


drowning

by minhos_diamond



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Relationships, Baseball, Blowjobs, Bottom Kim Seungmin, Competition, Developing Relationship, Drama, Emotional Roller Coaster, Explicit Sexual Content, Falling In Love, First Time, Fluff, Friendship, Group dynamics, Hints on eventual ships, Hwang Hyunjin is Whipped, Hwang Hyunjin is a Sweetheart, Hwang Hyunjin-centric, Kissing, Literature, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Making Out, Massage, Minor woochan, Oral Sex, Pool Sex, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Rimming, Semi-Public Sex, Seungmin can be an asshole, Sexual Tension, Smut, Sports, Swimming, Swimming Boys, Swimming Pools, Teasing, Top Hwang Hyunjin, Tsundere Seungmin, Twins Hwang Hyunjin & Hwang Yeji, bottom seungmin, cuddly Hyunjin, handjobs, just slightly angsty tho, luckily he is cute, seungjin - Freeform, top hyunjin, well educated Hyunjin, woochan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:26:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 53,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24632275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minhos_diamond/pseuds/minhos_diamond
Summary: Being in the baseball team at such a young age causes attention. Kim Seungmin is only known as the quiet and somehow cold boy until he passes the auditions.The sport clubs are in a mute competition about this year's sponsoring. Of course Hyunjin wants to convince that his swim team is the perfect investment. However, he might get a little distracted by Seungmin's eyes too often.It all starts with a stupid bet. A really stupid bet."Hyunjin, do you think you can seduce Seungmin?"And Hyunjin does not intend to fall in love or else he will drown.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Kim Woojin, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 132
Kudos: 541





	1. Step 1 - getting to know each other

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to my new Seungjin fic, so glad that you are here today. 
> 
> I just could not resist to post another story of those two softies. I am still sad about the fact that there is not enough content with Seungmin bottom ... However, it will be soft and cute again, also quite complicated and tensed. 
> 
> There will be a lot of sex, but there is still a development of their relationship plus a storyline (a storyline just makes smut so much better, don't you think?). And yeah, I hope it makes nobody uncomfortable that they are under 18 (Hyunjin is 16 and Seungmin is 15). If it unsettles you, please feel free to click away now.
> 
> This story is kind of the opposite to the last one. Some things escalate quickly. Trusting somebody too fast and regretting it, plays a big role in this. It is something new for me, and I am really excited about it. 
> 
> Okay, enough talking! I hope you enjoy the first chapter. I try to upload once a week (no promises tho). For me it is like taking a break from other projects since the end is always in sight, heh.
> 
> Disclaimer: This fic includes Woojin. I will not edit him out since this story had been produced before any allegations came out. I do not care whether people will find me insensitive because of it. He plays an important role in this story, so I cannot think of another way to keep this fic uploaded.  
> After all, Stray Kids have not deleted their old MVs, have they?   
> If you do not want to read anything with him, that is you-problem. Feel free to leave. 
> 
> For the others: Enjoy reading!

Hyunjin had never been afraid of drowning. Water was not that much different from the sky. It was wide and open. 

Moreover, the sky is the cause for its blue colour and the horizon is where they meet. It is exactly the connection point which proves that they are secretly one. 

There was no reason for fearing the waves. They always indulged him, made him feel safe and whole again. Furthermore it had no prejudices. Water did not have any feelings, any judgments. 

People liked to see Hyunjin simply as handsome face. It was tiring. Of course it was flattering to be called “sweet” and “pretty”, but at the same time it was humiliating. Since he had been joining the swim club it got a lot better. He was great at what he did. 

The role of sports clubs was important. His school was known for its many achievements in various sports. This was the exact reason why the support association liked to sponsor the “best” club. 

What did the term “best” defined? 

In Hyunjin’s point of view his club was the best. There were excellent swimmers and the bond between them was genuinely strong. They shone in the single races as brightly as they did in relays. But still, there were tough competitors: the soccer team, the basketball team, the gymnasts, the baseball team … 

Every year was a big funding in order to reward the strongest club so that it could build up its equipment, buy uniforms and so on. Everyone desired to win the sponsoring. In order to do so it was absolutely necessary to show the team from its best side. Next month the sponsors would visit the school to inspect the training of different sports clubs. By doing so they wanted to see which potential was the most promising. 

“If we get the sponsoring, we will buy new jammers for everyone”, Chan claimed and stuffed his mouth with food.

The swim team was sitting in the cafeteria, discussing about the funding. Every member was highly excited about it and tried to practice a lot to make sure that they would win. It definitely helped that the swim team was quite popular. No wonder. Not only because of Chan being the captain, but also because of members like Jinyoung or Jaebum. Jaebum used to be the captain, however, it was his last year so he wanted to cut his schedule, and resigning from the position as leader helped a lot. 

Chan was doing a great job and he still respected the older, therefore, nothing had really changed. 

“And maybe we would have enough money to renovate the outdoor pool. Imagine that: Swimming outside when it’s summer.” Changbin sighed nearly in desperation. 

“Sounds sick," Minho replied and pushed his packet of cookies over to Hyunjin, who was distracted by the appearance of another person. 

A boy with brown hair joined their table and put his hands on Chan’s eyes. “Who am I?” 

Chan giggled and turned around to receive a peck on his plush lips. “Hey, handsome,” he greeted and stretched his arms out to wrap them around the other person’s torso. 

Minho practically gagged on his cookie out of disgust and rolled his eyes. The rest of the team just chuckled and welcomed Woojin. 

He was a member of the choir and - obviously - Chan’s boyfriend. The two were head over heels for each other and disgustingly in love. Although Chan was undeniably busy all the time Woojin somehow managed to sneak up on him here and there. Just like now when he sat down, pulling the younger onto his lap. “What’s the news?” he asked.

“We’re just talking about this year’s sponsoring,” Chan answered and continued to eat, making sure to give Woojin enough attention by ruffling the brown hair, “We need to restore our equipment.” 

Woojin smiled. “Ah, the year’s sponsorship. The sponsorship everyone gets nuts about.” 

“Yeah, how couldn’t you?” Minho shrugged. “It’s a huge chance and I’m also looking forward to mocking the other clubs about our triumph.” 

“Oh come on, you cannot be sure that you’ll win,” Woojin intervened, raising an eyebrow. 

Chan gasped playfully and hit Woojin’s shoulder. “Do you not trust me and my great mentoring methods?” 

“I trust you wholeheartedly, baby, but you do know about the glow up of the baseball team, don’t you?” 

Chan frowned and tapped his chin, pondering about what Woojin meant. Then he shook his head which lead Woojin to sigh. 

“I’m not even in a sports club! Why do I know about this stuff better than you?” he teased and kissed Chan’s shoulder, “But you have to know, Hyunjin, right?”

Well, Hyunjin should know since his twin sister Yeji was in the baseball team as well. Nevertheless, she had been quite busy and although the siblings were on good terms they did not always have the time to exchange everything about their lives. Hyunjin was a little bit ashamed that he had not been taking that much interest into Yeji lately. Consequently he also had no clue what Woojin was talking about. 

The others became curious as well.

“Now you have to say it,” Changbin urged. 

Woojin raised his hands and grinned. “Okay, okay.” He cleared his throat and leaned forward, creating a tensed atmosphere. It was like he was about to share something forbidden, something which the world’s order depended on. Perhaps this was not even that exaggerated since the sponsorship was a huge thing. 

“The baseball team has a new member. He is supposedly an ace. Has been playing baseball since he was a toddler. Plus he's young. Actually, I don’t think that someone this young has ever passed the audition of the baseball team before.” Woojin leaned back. “And you know what that means.”

Of course everyone knew about its meaning. Young blood. Young talented blood. The perfect source of tremendous potential. And if he was really that good then the swim club would be in serious trouble. All of them were in a good shape (and yes, also Minho - the cookies changed nothing because he was also a dancer and trained ridiciously much) and obviously very skilled.

However, it was always alluring to see a young member in a sports club. Good for publicity and most importantly: very promising. 

“Do you know who it is? And where did you hear of him?” Chan asked, now quite serious. 

“Firstly, I heard the news from Lia. Yeji told her.” It made sense. Lia was in the choir too and also a good friend of Yeji. Wow, Woojin was indeed better informed that Hyunjin. It was kind of embarrassing. 

“Secondly, his name is Kim Seungmin. He should be a level below yours, Hyunjin.”

“Shit, that’s really young,” Changbin confirmed, “Especially for the baseball team. The people there are so picky.” He seemed to think about something else until he snapped. “I think I’ve seen him before! Isn’t he a friend of Felix?” 

Chan also seemed to remember. “You’re right! I totally forgot. Hm, but he’s pretty quiet or else I would’ve remember him sooner.” He sighed heavily. “Well, now I have to think about a better strategy, so that we can win the sponsorship.” Then he smiled softly at Woojin. “Thank you for telling me.” He leaned forwards to press a kiss onto the other’s mouth.

“Oh eww,” Minho commented and held his book up.

A moment later Hyunjin noticed some students who arrived in the cafeteria. His sister was in the crowd as well, so he raised his hand to make himself noticeable when he suddenly recognized another person. He blinked a few times and lowered his arm. “Is that Seungmin?”, he asked. 

The others turned their heads around - by the way not very subtly which looked pretty stupid - and tried to localize the student Hyunjin was referring too.

“Ah, yeah! I see him. That’s Seungmin,” Changbin said and was about to point his finger before he realized that this was probably not very appropriate. 

Seungmin seemed indeed young. He had a soft face, narrow lips and bright eyes. However, they were kind of … empty. Although the light of the lamps reflected itself within his pupils they remained somehow dark and unreadable. 

Not a second later some students went to him in order to congratulate him.

“Yep, definitely the new ace”, Jinyoung stated, “Look at how people crave his attention.” 

It was funny. Nobody knew about Seungmin before because that was exactly what he looked like. Very quiet, too unbothered by the rest of the world to even care about his surroundings. Even now he was not genuinely delighted by the congratulations. He remained polite and accepted the compliments, but he was not like others who loved to bath in those words. 

Slightly he tilted his head to the side and Hyunjin had to smile without noticing it. The other seemed like a puppy in this position. Cute. 

“Yo, are you staring at him?” Minho nudged him, ripping him out of his trance.  
  
“What? No.” Hyunjin puckered his lips and folded his arms. Sometimes Minho was too much of a tease, it could be tiring. 

“I’ve never seen him laugh,” Changbin told, “And I’m sure nobody else has ever.” 

Right. Thinking of Seungmin caused only those comments of people who said that the boy was strange. He seemed like a geek, a weirdo. Moreover, he had this “icy” image. It was hard to read his expressions because they were practically non-existent. The fact that he was in the baseball team was pretty surprising to everyone. 

“He seems like the focused type”, Chan said, “Definitely a threat.” 

Hyunjin found it awkward to see Seungmin as a "threat". Actually, he seemed too soft to be an actual danger. 

This opinion changed as the other looked into his direction by accident. His gaze pierced through his body, leaving goosebumps. 

The curiosity about Seungmin continued in the training. The members kept discussing about the sponsorship in the swim hall. 

While they were stretching Changbin brought up the topic again: “I wonder what type of person he is.”

“It’s rare to see that you take that much interest”, Minho teased and stretched his arms.

Hyunjin tried to reach the floor with his hands, legs being spread but he nearly fell over as he heard Minho’s next words: “We should spy.”

“Are you insane?” he asked and straightened his back again, crossing his arms, “That would be very manipulative and wrong.” 

Minho smirked and sat down at the brink of the pool. “Come on, nobody plays fair in this time. You guys remember what happened to Chan?”

“Someone put a whoopee cushion on his chair.” Changbin sighed. “Yeah, that was pretty childish.” 

“And embarrassing”, Hyunjin added. Normally the leader was chill, but after this incident he had been in a stinky mood all day. Until now nobody had found out who was responsible. 

“Exactly,” Minho clinked himself into the discussion again, “We have to be rough or we’ll die.”

“That's maybe a little bit exaggerated”, Hyunjin murmured. 

“Hey! Stop procrastinating!” Chan yelled from the other side, “What are you waiting for? Warm up already!”

Hyunjin gritted his teeth and made a face, which caused Minho to laugh.

All of them got into the water and Changbin started to swim the first round.

“No, seriously. You should always know the enemy in detail”, Minho said, winking at Hyunjin, who remained confused. 

* * *

  
"Hyunjin! Look at this bat!" Yeji swung it around and grinned at her brother. 

They were standing in the school yard for break and Hyunjin had been focusing on a conversation with Chan about different cardio exercises until Yeji had interrupted their discussion lovingly. Just to show off her new equipment. 

"Where did you get that from?" Hyunjin asked and frowned. Usually their parents were really fair, so as soon as one twin received a gift the other would get something as well. 

"The captain saw that mine is junk, so he bought it for me. He is so nice!" 

Hyunjin grumbled and took the bat out of her hand. "He tries to hit on you." 

"No way," Yeji replied and waved off the comment, "Sungjin just wants to make sure that everyone has equal chances. Seungmin got a bat too."

Now others of the swim team took interest as well. 

"The ace?" 

"Ace is understated." Yeji grabbed her bat again and hit her brother slightly with it. "You know that I can throw with the speed of 95 miles per hour, right?" 

Hyunjin nodded. His sister was known as the most powerful pitcher of the baseball team. She had good reflexes and was surprisingly strong. Additionally, she knew how to maximize her advantages. Therefore, she always utilized her whole body in order to throw as strong as possible. 

“The reason why Seungmin passed the audition was because he was able to hit every ball I threw.” 

Hyunjin’s eyes widened. Even the older boys from other schools had problems to keep up with Yeji’s speed. 

“And he strikes balls precisely. However, he is quite fast too, but he has to grow of course. He is so cute tho.” Yeji giggled. “I swear, you and your team are so dead.” Now she laughed in mischievousness. 

Hyunjin pouted and wrapped his arms around her before jolting her. “So mean!”

In return Yeji hit him, trying to escape. In the end Hyunjin lifted her up while she rested her arms on his shoulders. 

“No, I’d be glad if you received the sponsorship,” Yeji said, “But I have to admit that new uniforms would look great on us.” She winked. “Oh, there’s Seungmin. I’ll say hello to him!” She backed off from Hyunjin and waved before crossing the school yard.

Seungmin was standing with his friends Jeongin, Jisung and Felix. As far as Hyunjin knew Jisung was also in the baseball team, but he was more of a substitute, so nobody really knew about him. Seungmin was far more interesting. 

“Okay, this is just such a great opportunity,” he suddenly heard behind him. He turned around and saw Minho, who was looking at Seungmin’s group. “Why haven’t I thought of this earlier?”

“What do you mean?”, Hyunjin questioned suspiciously. 

“Your sister is literally the perfect access to fridge boy.”

“Calling him fridge boy is a bit freaky, don’t you think?” Hyunjin commented and looked back at Seungmin. He believed that the other returned the gaze for a second, but it had been too fast to be sure. 

“It’s fitting. Look at him. Cold, no empathy, cruel,” Minho listed. 

“Reminds me of someone,” Hyunjin interrupted and stared at him directly.

Minho laughed. “Ouch, that was tough.” He rested his forearm on Hyunjin’s shoulder. “No, seriously. You should try it.” 

Hyunjin groaned a little annoyed. “Try what?” 

“Break his facade,” Minho answered. 

Now Hyunjin was flustered. To what an extent should he break Seungmin’s facade? Was there even something to break? Maybe Seungmin was just the laughing-inwards person. And although Hyunjin was kind of fascinated by this boy he was not so sure whether he could get near to him. 

"Hyunjin, do you think you can seduce Seungmin?"

Hyunjin was about to choke on his own spit. “What?!” 

Also Changbin seemed to notice the ongoing conversation. “Who should seduce whom?” 

Minho grinned. “Just look at this attractive face. Nobody could resist except fridge boy.”

Hyunjin just rolled his eyes and pushed his hyung back. Normally he would not have the courage to do so (he respected Minho a lot and honestly - sometimes the other was frightening), but this time he was not set on this type of discussion again. “I don’t know how to flirt,” he argued, “Just because I have a 'tempting' face doesn’t mean that I am eager to seduce cute boys.”

“You called him cute!” Minho laughed and nudged him playfully. 

“Shush!” Hyunjin uttered, “Don’t scream it across the whole school yard!” 

“Well,” Changbin interrupted their little fight, “Maybe you should just consider it. You could distract him from training. It would increase our chances for the sponsorship significantly.”

“There are other competitors as well,” Hyunjin said and risked once again a glance towards Seungmin, who shook his head at Felix. The freckled boy was about to drop some dangerous moves from fortnite dances. 

"But the baseball team is the biggest threat", Changbin answered. 

That was probably true, but Hyunjin was still not very into the idea of seducing somebody. He would suck at it anyway. 

“Let’s do a bet”, Minho suggested, “If you can seduce him, then I’ll pay for your jammers until the end of your school career.” 

“I could get them by myself if we don’t win," Hyunjin murmured. 

Minho laughed. “Oh man, where’s the fun? Come on. It would be super helpful.” 

“It would,” Changbin agreed, “Enough distraction to secure our spot as winner. We just ... have to hide it in front of Chan, I guess.”

“Isn’t that a sign that we shouldn’t do this? Playing with feelings is just not my way.” Hyunjin sighed heavily. 

“And the triumph over your sister?”

“I support her as she supports me.” 

Yeji was talking to Seungmin and hugged him before going to her group of friends. 

“It’s for fun,” Minho repeated, “Or are you afraid?” 

Hyunjin boxed him slightly. Now he really had enough. “I’m not afraid.” 

“You know, I’m just very curious about Seungmin. If he’s capable of crying, laughing … loving. He’d be less threatening if we knew that he’s not only an ice block.”

Hyunjin had to admit that he was curious as well. For him Seungmin was a mystery. He wanted to know what the other thought, although he did not understand exactly why it took his interest. “Okay, you'll have to buy me jammers. And you have to organize the party in case we win the sponsorship,” Hyunjin said defeated. 

Minho held out his fist and smiled. “Deal.” 

“And what’s the exact condition?” Changbin asked. 

“Oh, it’s easy. Seungmin has to say ‘I love you’. Try to get a real love confession.” 

Hyunjin blinked a few times and breathed aloud. 

“Okay.”

* * *

Hyunjin had been spending the days with observing the other. In the school yard, in the cafeteria, through the windows of the classrooms … He felt like a stalker and was not that comfortable with it. 

He did not have an exact limit, but it was obvious that he had to seduce Seungmin until the sponsors would visit their school. However, he was a little bit afraid (although he told Minho something different). He had never been good at talking to people randomly. He was not like Chan who could chat with everyone. And now he needed to make contact with “fridge boy”. This bet was for sure the stupidest idea Minho had ever have.  
  
Seungmin was occupied by the board with appointments and read through the different papers when Hyunjin decided that he needed to do something. He did not have endless time and if he thought longer about potential actions, he would run away. 

“Hey,” he greeted Seungmin as casually as possible.

The younger’s eye twitched. Nevertheless, he ignored the other and signed up on a list. It applied to a mathematics competition. Somehow it was very fitting and at the same time fascinating. Seungmin was sportive, yet he took interest in other subjects as well. He was probably a good student, and oddly Hyunjin found it very attractive. 

“Uhm, hey? Seungmin?” he asked, a little shy already. Wow, this was totally not working. 

“You’re talking to me?” The other lowered his pen, still staring at the board.

“Yes, I am.” 

“Listen, Hwang, I don’t know what you want from me, but I’m not interested.” Seungmin turned around and X-rayed the other. His gaze was cold and intimidating, making Hyunjin shiver. 

“W-What?” Did Seungmin know about the bet? But this was impossible. “You know my name?”

Seungmin rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Come on, don’t play dumb. Everyone knows your name.” He cocked his head to the side. “And actually I’m trying to figure out why you even bother about me.”

“Bother? No, I … I just wanted to ask if you want to hang out with me some time.” Was his voice getting higher?

Seungmin laughed, but it sounded rather sarcastic. “Hang out? With you? To do what? Talking about sports?”

“If you want to,” Hyunjin replied, feeling already tiny under Seungmin’s glare. 

“No, thanks.” Seungmin brushed past Hyunjin. 

The next days were rough. It had been embarrassing how fatal their first conversation had been. How should Hyunjin seduce someone who was so … defending? Yes, defending was a good term. He did not want describe Seungmin as cold since he was convinced that he had feelings as well. It was kind of like his own problems. People tended to forget that Hyunjin was an actual human being with emotions, therefore, it hurt to be called indirectly as useless. That he did not have to put effort into anything because he had the looks. He did not want to end up like them, saying that someone was so cold, based on stupid prejudices. 

“How is it going?” Minho asked in the lunch break. 

Hyunjin sighed. “Horrible. I have this feeling that he’s naturally suspicious.” 

“Maybe a tsundere?” 

“What’s that?” 

“Oh, maybe Chan should explain this. He’s an anime fan,” Minho said and waved at Chan, “Chan, come here!” 

The leader followed the instruction. “What is it?” 

“Hyunjin wants to know what a tsundere is.” 

Chan’s face lighted up. “Oh! You watch anime?”, he asked, excited.

Hyunjin scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, something like this.” 

Chan grinned. “So, tsundere refers to a persona. It’s like being super bratty and rude on the one hand, but on the other hand being very sweet and nice. Peope with those character traits usually try to protect themselves by harsh behaviour since they don’t like to come off as vulnerable.”

Hyunjin kept thinking about this as he went to the library. He wanted to borrow some new books since it was one of the few things which could calm him down in stressful phases. The bet gave him a harder time than expected. Perhaps it would help to borrow romance books? 

He chuckled. Bullshit. Seungmin was special. He would not fall for the standard pick-up lines. The thought alone was thrilling. Seungmin was weird, but he gave off an fascinating vibe. Hyunjin wanted to explore more, but how? 

Caught up in his thoughts he did not realize that another person was coming from the right side. He just kept tracing his fingers along the back of the books until he bumped into that person. His heart stopped for a second and then he heard noises, caused from the books which fell onto floor. 

“Oh, shit, I’m so sor-” He stopped as he saw Seungmin who bent down and grabbed the books. 

“Can’t you be more careful?” the younger asked annoyed and raised up again, “Huh? What are _you_ doing here, Hwang?” 

“... Reading?” Hyunjin answered hesitantly. What else should he do here? 

Other people around them noticed the chaos and started murmuring. 

Seungmin sighed and grabbed Hyunjin’s sleeve to drag him behind a shelf. “Are you stalking me?” 

“N-No, I swear, I just wanted to get some books,” Hyunjin answered. This was a total disaster. He knew that he seemed very creepy like this, and it was an unfortunate incident to meet the other without any mental preparation. 

Seungmin frowned and was probably about to insult him before he recognized the book in Hyunjin’s hand. “No way. That’s Choi Yunsik!” 

Hyunjin had a confused look until he understood that Seungmin was referring to the novel which he was holding. “Uh, yeah. I think his writing's raw and honest. And maybe a little bit freaked out. I like the way he uses metaphors.” 

Suddenly there was a spark in Seungmin’s eyes. “I totally get what you mean! What is your favourite book of him?” 

Hyunjin’s pulse became rapid and he smiled at the reaction of the other. 

His friends thought that those books were boring, so he liked to keep his passion for himself. He loved reading since it was relaxing. Like another world where he could dive deep in. There were so many works from different centuries, from different countries, and he wanted to see as much as possible. 

“I think ‘A crocodile lives in my heart’ is still my favourite, but I like ‘Circus, Circus’ as well. It’s so captivating and creative. It feels like you’re spinning while reading.” 

“I love those too,” Seungmin agreed. 

Hyunjin was not sure, but he believed that his knowledge impressed the other. 

“Do you know Kim Je-ha?”, Seungmin questioned, “Also one of my top authors.” 

Hyunjin chuckled. “I’ve heard about him. His works are supposedly very hard to understand because of his complex word choice.” 

Seungmin nodded. “But his writing style is brilliant! I should lend you some books.” He was so excited that he bounced lightly, and Hyunjin thought for a split second that he would fall in love immediately. The other was too adorable and seeing him like this was shocking, but also lovely. 

So Seungmin liked literature. A lot. Just like Hyunjin. And he obviously craved for the opportunity to exchange his thoughts about difficult works. 

“That’d be awesome,” Hyunjin replied, smiling while the heat crawled up into his face. 

Seungmin smiled as well and it was breathtaking. Hyunjin had noticed before that the other was cute, but now he saw how stunning he was. It was his whole image which made him so soft and tender. Seeing him this vivid was overwhelming. It was a mesmerizing sight. 

“I have to go now, but I’ll talk to you again,” Seungmin promised.

"Yeah, sure." 

Seungmin waved good-bye and left.

Then, Hyunjin leaned against the shelf with his hand placed on his heart. It had been a while since he felt this happy. 


	2. Step 2 - trying to impress your friend/crush/whatever

It was ridiculous, but Hyunjin just could not stop thinking about Seungmin’s smile. It was still unbelievable that the other had smiled at him, only him. He was probably one of the lucky ones who had the chance to experience such a holy moment. 

Seungmin was a little devil tho. Hyunjin had noticed that he was quite mischievous and sarcastic. They spoke from time to time although it stuck to short conversations since they both did not have enough time to talk very long to each other. 

That was why Hyunjin thought of inviting Seungmin over, yet he was a little bit worried. Did it not come too fast? The other had started talking to him, which was a great achievement. He probably should not overdo it. Notwithstanding, he was tremendously impatient. He wanted to know more about Seungmin and he was busy all day pondering about the other. (Hopefully it would not develop to an obsession.)

Seungmin was talking to Jeongin as Hyunjin decided to simply watch him. He accepted the fact that he was pretty much whipped. And the auditorium was filled by plenty of students, so he simply believed that him staring would not stand out too much.

Changbin, Minho, Jinyoung and Chaeryeong were busy with talking about new methods to increase the speed of the relays. The transitions were the main problem (there had been enough times were somebody nearly tripped off the start block), therefore, the discussion became quite heated in no time. 

“Maybe Chan should help fixing it,” Minho suggested.

“Chan has a lot to do. We can do it by ourselves,” Chaeryeong argued.

“He has a lot to do? Like what? Getting laid by his boyfriend?” Minho laughed and the others groaned before laughing as well. It was a little bit mean, but it was just so funny how Chan turned from a tough leader into a squishy puddle of love as soon as Woojin appeared.  
  
“What do you think, Hyunjin?”, Minho asked. Then, he realized that Hyunjin was not even listening. 

He was still occupied by Seungmin’s perfect brown eyes. He did not see them as empty anymore. They were deep and dark, like the sea. It was beautiful to watch, and Hyunjin thought often enough that he could drown in them. 

“Are you planning some strategies for the bet?” Minho sat down next to Hyunjin.

“Huh? What?”, he said, confused. 

Changbin joined them as well. 

“Your gazes are peeling off his clothes.” 

“Minho!” Changbin exhorted. “Seungmin’s 15. Such comments are not appropriate.” 

Hyunjin blushed and was glad that at least one of them had some common sense. 

“It’s not like he’s a baby. He’s in the middle of puberty,” Minho said, shrugging.

That was somehow true, however, Hyunjin was still embarrassed by the comment. The bet was about Seungmin who should confess his love. Sex had never even been an aspect of this bet. “You said that he was an ice block. He’s probably not even interested in sexual matters.” Hyunjin sighed and turned his head toward Minho.

“If he’s capable of loving, the chance will get higher that he has those interests as well.” 

Hyunjin chuckled, shaking his head. He pushed Minho back. “You’re so weird, Hyung.” 

Suddenly Changbin uttered a “Seungmin’s coming!” and everyone shut up. 

The younger channeled his way through the crowd. He had a book in his hand and looked around until he discovered Hyunijn. He smiled and started walking into his direction. 

Hyunjin’s face was all warm again and his heart was beating like a butterfly which flitted its wings. He smiled as well and stood up. “Hey,” he greeted. 

“Hey.”

Every time Seungmin returned the greeting Hyunjin felt this explosion out of euphoria in his chest. It was ridiculous how happy he was because of this simple gesture. 

“I have this book for you. It’s called ‘The lunatic painter’. I hope you’ll like it.” Seungmin handed the book over. 

Hyunjin accepted it with diligence and looked at the cover. It was minimalistic, but the book felt good with its weight in his hands. “Thank you. Can’t wait to read it.” He looked at Seungmin’s face again. “We should go to the library together, some time.” 

Seungmin blinked a few times before his cheeks reddened. “Well, you have to name good reasons why we should.”

Hyunjin did not expect this kind of answer, although it was obvious that Seungmin was full of surprises. Actually, he was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. 

Hyunjin laughed, embarrassed and stroked the back of the book. “I have to convince you?”

“Obviously. My standard is high, Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin. 

His own name sounded so beautiful out of Seungmin’s mouth. The younger one had such an alluring tone. Him talking was like singing, honey dripping from his tongue. Hyunjin was addicted to the sound. And he wanted to hear his name more often from the other. 

“I’ve noticed,” Hyunjin returned.

“However, I need to go back. Meeting with my team because of the sponsorship.” Seungmin smiled at him and went off. 

“Okay, what was that?” Minho asked as soon as Hyunjin had joined them again. 

Hyunjin tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?” 

“He was actually smiling.” Minho grinned. “Dang, you’re making progress. I’ll lose!” For being the potential loser he seemed quite happy about it. 

“If it’s about the bet, shut up. I like him,” Hyunjin murmured. 

“You two are cute. You won’t fall in love, will you?” 

Hyunjin blushed. “Nonsense. I think, he’s a great friend.” 

But that was the problem. If Hyunjin saw him as a friend, it would be disturbing to make him falling in love with him. Maybe this all was an extremely stupid idea? But backing off from the bet would make him a coward, and he was not very eager to be teased by Minho for the rest of the year. It could be possible to receive a “I love you” in a friendship-way. Then, nobody’s feelings would get hurt and Hyunjin would still win (although that was not the most important aspect). 

However, he wanted to try further. Honestly, the bet was the perfect excuse for him to be near to Seungmin. It was simply difficult for him to admit that he craved the other’s attention, so he rather made a fool out of himself because of a stupid bet. 

A stupid reason was better than no reason, right?

Later Hyunjin went with Minho to the lockers since they needed to get their stuff. As soon as Hyunjin opened his locker a stack of envelopes fell out. He immediately knew what they were: love letters. He received tons of them. 

Back then Chan used to receive them too because of his position as captain (captains were always super popular), but since he had been seeing Woojin it had stopped. 

Now Hyunjin had to suffer through it alone. 

“I guess you could choose whoever you want to choose.” Minho grabbed some of the letters. He even opened one envelope and unfolded the paper before starting to read: _“Hyunjin, your eyes shine brighter than the sun. And they burn my heart in desperation. Please be my boyfriend.”_ He chuckled. “Well, it does sound desperate.”

“Stop making fun of her,” Hyunjin said and grabbed the paper. He read through the text himself before putting it into his bag. He never threw the letters away because some of them were written thoughtfully. Of course he could never be sure whether the feelings were based on his looks or not, but he did not want to judge without knowing. Notwithstanding, he still did not take any interest into those letters, so he usually read them and put them into a box, which he stored under his bed. 

“Maybe you should write a love letter to Seungmin.” 

“Are you trying to help me with the bet? Would be stupid since I try to defeat you.” Hyunjin leaned against the lockers and lifted his eyebrow. 

“I just love to see how you embarrass yourself. I mean, yes, he talks to you, but if you asked him to come over, he would refuse.” 

Hyunjin widened his nostrils. It hurt his ego to hear such words, although the older did not mean it. 

“You can question Chan how he asked Woojin out,” Minho suggested. 

Speaking of the devil, Chan arrived at the lockers to get his books. He was humming a melody and was in the good mood. 

“Chan,” Minho interrupted him, “Hyunjin needs help.” 

“With some personas from anime again?” The older giggled and closed the door of his locker. 

Hyunjin shook his head and felt the weight of his heart heavy in his chest. “Uhm … I wanted to ask how you invited Woojin for the first time back then.”

Chan blinked a few times, obviously surprised by the random question. “Why do you want to know that?” 

“Curiosity?” 

“He likes someone,” Minho lied partly. 

Then, Chan laughed, so you could see his dimples while his eyes were forming to crescents. “That’s cute.” He rubbed his chin with his thumb and index finger. “I guess, I simply asked him if he wanted to hang out? I offered that we could play games.”

“And the big advantage was, that your family was not there,” Minho added. 

Chan smiled. “Yeah … my siblings can be really loud. It was less tensed like this.”

“You sure?” Minho wiggled with his eyebrows, causing Chan to blush. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Woojin took a pack of condoms with him because he was paranoid.” 

“We did not use them!” Chan hit Minho with his book. “However, I need to go. I hope that I was able to help you, Hyunjin.” Then, he left them. 

Hyunjin groaned. He did not really know whether this conversation had helped or not, but he was - more or less - ready to attempt the new operation “ask Seungmin over”. He straightened his back as he discovered Seungmin, who was talking to a teacher. 

“So, do you want to try?” Minho asked.

Hyunjin nodded and gulped, waited until the teacher left Seungmin. He jumped practically forward and walked to the younger. “Seungmin!” 

“Oh, hi.” Seungmin did not even look at him since he was busy with noting something down into his book. Slowly he rose his head and frowned. “Can I help you?” 

Hyunjin’s mouth became dry. Suddenly he was not so sure about his plan anymore. His heart was beating painfully in his chest and he feared that the other could notice how he was trembling. “I just wanted to ask whether you’d like to come over some time. Maybe this weekend?” 

Seungmin seemed honestly surprised and hesitated. “Sorry, I can’t,” he replied, “we have extra training. And I have a lot of school work to do.”

Hyunjin’s face heated up in embarrassment. 

“But I’m sure that you’re busy as well. I mean, your swim club wants the sponsorship as well. Maybe you should focus on your training more anyway.” Seungmin scratched his cheek and smiled awkwardly before looking at Hyunjin with his dark eyes again. They did not exactly portray his pity for not being able to meet the older. 

“Right, training,” Hyunjin mumbled. 

“See ya.” Seungmin patted Hyunjin’s shoulder and brushed past him. 

Hyunjin looked after him and sighed heavily, only to be annoyed at Minho, who had started laughing. “Shut up!” he claimed and pouted. 

Perhaps Minho was right. This bet was impossible. 

Still, Hyunjin did not want to give up. He started thinking about new strategies the next days. He was sure that he needed to convince Seungmin to come over or else there was not even a little spark of hope that he could seduce him. 

* * *

Once, a sudden idea plopped up in his mind as soon as he saw Yeji, who was leaving the bathroom only with a towel around her slim body. 

“My dear, little baby sister,” he addressed her, “Please help me.”

“Baby sister?” Yeji laughed. “Come on, you’re just seven minutes older than me. Don’t be bossy.” She entered her room, but left the door open - a mute sign that Hyunjin was allowed to follow her. “What do you want?” She rummaged in her closet, however, Hyunjin knew, that she was still listening. 

“I wanted to ask you about Seungmin.” 

Yeji furrowed her eyebrows and turned around. “Seungmin again? You’re not trying to spy, are you?” She smirked and took her towel off. 

Automatically, Hyunjin stared out of the window. His sister did not mind that he saw her naked - they were twins after all. They used to bath naked together in a tub and had been sharing a bed for a long time until they had moved to this house. But now both were in puberty, and although Yeji was still Yeji it still felt … weird. 

“I wouldn’t call it spying,” Hyunjin defended himself, “I’m just interested. I mean, he’s the baseball team’s ace and I wonder what he does in his freetime. He’s always so busy.” 

“Ah, I noticed that you two have become friends or something like that,” Yeji said as she was dressing up, “Well, as far as I know he’s obsessed with baseball, so he likes to know more about methods and techniques.”

“For example?” 

Yeji started drying her hair. “Preventing injuries, relaxing muscles, good cardio exercises … This kind of stuff. I mean, you’re a swimmer. You should know that a sport requires a lot more than just doing it.”

Hyunjin nodded and tapped his chin. “Do you think it would be easier to invite him over if I suggested to talk with him about those things?”

Yeji blinked, surprised. “You want to invite him over?” She sighed and sat on the chair. “I don’t know Seungmin very well, but maybe it would work? I don’t know.” 

The problem was that Hyunjin himself was not very educated in this area. Seungmin knew probably a lot more than him. 

So Hyunjin kept pondering about this "problem". It was ironic, but he was more distracted by this issue than expected. He dozed off during classes and he gave less than 100 percent during training. 

“You’re so tensed,” Jinyoung commented. 

The swim team was sitting in the cafeteria again, rather to chat about improving their single races instead of actually eating. 

“He’s right,” Minho confirmed as soon as he laid his hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder, feeling the tension under his fingers. 

“Nevermind,” the younger murmured and looked around, “where’s Chan? We were supposed to meet punctually.” 

Changbin shrugged. In the next moment he discovered Woojin. “Maybe Wooj knows where he is.” He waved the older over. 

“Hey, everything’s alright?” Woojin sat down on the bench.

“Yeah. Do you know where Chan is?” Changbin asked. 

“He has a meeting with a teacher. For a project. He should appear any second.” 

Minho was still busy with massaging Hyunjin’s shoulder, but the tension did not get better. Actually, it hurt more than it was helping. 

“Something's wrong?” Woojin asked out of worry. 

“Just a little bit … tensed,” Hyunjin answered. 

Woojin tilted his head to the side. “A little tensed? You seem pretty stressed.” 

Minho let go off Hyunjin and turned around, remembering something. “Woojin, Chan told me that you’re quite handy in massages.” 

Woojin was surprised by the sudden mention. “Uhm … yes. I’ve been informing myself since Chan trains excessively. I went to some courses to teach myself more about it.” 

“That’s disgustingly romantic,” Minho answered, “But maybe you can help Hyunjin out?” 

Before Woojin could answer, Chan entered the cafeteria, a very unhappy look on his face. 

Woojin frowned and stood up to drag his boyfriend to the table. “What’s wrong, baby?” 

“I’ve received a load of work. I mean, yes, ambitions and everything, but I’m busy with the team,” he complained and sighed, “Please let me die.”

“That’s not a good option, I guess.” Woojin smiled at him pitifully.

After that the meeting began. 

Nevertheless, the fact that Woojin had some skills in massaging was stuck in Hyunjin’s head. Therefore, he decided to talk to Woojin afterwards.

"Hyung," he asked, "Sorry to bother you, but I have a question."

"Sure," the older responded and smiled, "Is it about the massage thing?" 

Hyunjin nodded. "Actually, I'd love to learn about it a little bit. For a friend." 

Woojin raised his eyebrows. "Oh, for a friend?" He hesitated. "Honestly, I like to keep massages as a privilege for Chan, but since you want to help someone I might make an exception." There had been a few people who had asked Woojin for a massage before. Since those massages were kind of Woojin's and Chan's "thing" he liked to keep it as something special for his boyfriend. Nevertheless, he found it very pure and sweet of Hyunjin to consider helping someone else. 

"Really?" Hyunjin's eyes began nearly sparkling. "I owe you." 

Woojin patted his shoulder. "It's okay. You can come over tomorrow if you want to." 

* * *

Woojin had not only beautiful but also extremely skillful hands. If Hyunjin was not too occupied by Seungmin he would be probably jealous. (Although Woojin and Chan were the perfect match already.) 

"Don't be afraid to use a little bit force," Woojin explained, "it's necessary to release the tension." 

Hyunjin was sitting on Woojin's bed, enjoying the massage on his nap. He was very tensed indeed, so it was great to solve this problem while learning something new. Two birds, one stone. 

"Massages are kind of intimate if you intend to," Woojin continued, "You should be always sure about the other's consent." He backed off. "If you want to, we can do the back as well. There are a lot more techniques." 

Hyunjin confirmed and got rid of his shirt. He laid down onto his stomach and supported his head on his arms which he had crossed. 

Woojin kneeled down next to him. "You can start with simply stroking the back. It's good to warm the skin. Additionally, it'll relax your partner beforehand." His warm palms caressed Hyunjin's back before they were stroking over the skin with more force. "I like to avoid the spine since it can cause damage as soon as you overdo it."  
  
Hyunjin closed his eyes and sighed. Finally he felt how the weight of the last days were lifted off his body. 

"Then you begin to knead the skin slowly, either by using pressure from above or kneading between your fingers. However, I prefer to use my palms." Woojin started to utilize more pressure, earning a relieved groan from the younger. “You can also think about using oil.”

"How often do you do this?" Hyunjin asked. 

"Well, you guys have been training harder since the announcement of the sponsorship, so I try to do it at least once a week. Chan's always so tensed," Woojin answered. His hands wandered down Hyunjin's muscular back. After having repeated this procedure a few times he laid his hands flat onto the skin. "You can also vibrate. To do so you have to shift your hands quickly in order to create an enjoyable friction." Woojin moved his hands forth and back contrariwise. 

Hyunjin felt the warmth and sighed heavily. This felt way too good to be real.

"Okay, one last tip," Woojin announced, "You can pat someone's skin. It's quite soothing if you do it correctly." Consequently he tapped Hyunjin's back with his palms several times. "You can just repeat all those movements over and over. Add circle motions to make it even more enjoyable. As soon as you're done, stroke the skin again. It's a good conclusion for a session." Woojin kept performing his different techniques while Hyunjin was trying to memorize it all. 

He was sure that Woojin had even more knowledge, but of course he wanted to save the special treatment for his boyfriend. 

"Is this someone whom you want to help a person you like?" Woojin asked suddenly as he was kneading Hyunjin's back again. "Oh, your back's strong," he commented.  
  
Hyunjin giggled and blushed, thinking about the question. "I think he's kinda cute, but I'm not sure whether I like-like him. I just know that I want to know more about him." 

"Must be an interesting person." 

Interesting? Seungmin was ravishing and gorgeous. Hyunjin could not stop thinking about his deep eyes, his thin lips, his squishy cheeks and his pretty voice.

Suddenly the door opened. "Wooj, hi, sorry for …" Chan froze. "... interrupting."

Woojin let go off Hyunjin's back and stood up. "Oh, your visit is … spontaneous." 

Chan's expression became cold. "Yeah, you're looking quite busy." 

Hyunjin gulped and sat up, putting on his shirt. He wanted to apologize, but every word was dying in his throat. 

Woojin lifted his eyebrows. "Well, I haven't been expecting you." He tried to wrap his arms around Chan's waist, but the younger hit his arm. 

"Uhm, I should go," Hyunjin whispered and bowed slightly, "Thanks for everything." He nearly tripped over the threshold and apologized hastily before leaving. 

Woojin yelled, "Bye!". Then, he turned to Chan. "What's wrong with you? You practically scared Hyunjin away." 

Chan folded his arms. "Yeah, I'm so sorry that I disturbed you two," he grumbled. 

Woojin sighed and pulled Chan towards the bed. "You didn't. We were nearly finished anyway." 

Chan was still a little bit grumpy, however, Woojin tried to snuggle him. Usually Chan was the one who tried to gain as many hugs as possible. Now Woojin had to make up for ... whatever. 

"Are you going to tell me what bothers you?" 

Slowly Chan looked towards him and bit his bottom lip. "I thought that massages are our … thing?" As he saw Woojin's amused face he hit the other's arm again. "What?!"

"You're just so adorbs when you're jealous," Woojin stated. 

Immediately Chan pouted (without even noticing it) and turned away. "I'm not! I just wanted to point out that you're the one who likes …" 

"... to keep it as your privilege. I know." Woojin supported his chin on Chan's shoulder. "Usually I don't massage other people. It's just that Hyunjin wanted advice to help a friend," Woojin explained. 

Chan tried to remain tough, but he was already softening at those words. He remembered the conversation at the lockers and smiled lightly. "Maybe it's his crush." 

"So he has a crush for real?" 

"I suppose." Chan leaned against Woojin's shoulder and rubbed his cheek against it. "Sorry about my reaction," he mumbled, "You know that I trust you. It was just …" 

Woojin shushed him by putting his index finger onto Chan's soft lips. "It's alright. I get it." He kissed his cheek and caressed his thigh. "But why are you here anyways? I'm not going to complain tho." 

Chan grinned and threw himself onto his back. "I need distraction. This whole sponsorship thing unsettles me. We won last year."

"And you're going to win again. Your team's tough." Woojin laid next to him on his side. 

"I thought so too, but as you said: the baseball team's experienced a huge glow up. This Seungmin guy is seriously a problem. He's ridiculously good. I've seen him playing." Chan closed his eyes and rolled onto his side as well. 

Woojin brushed the curls out of his forehead and pinched the pale cheek. "I think you can do it. Just show those sponsors your usual training program. They'll be amazed." 

"I hope so." Chan rolled onto Woojin.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Woojin asked, laughing. 

"Hn, nothing." Chan began kissing all over Woojin's face. "I’ve already said that I wanted distraction." He nudged his nose against Woojin's collarbone and bit his skin. His hands were already sliding down, touching every inch of the strong torso until they clutched onto the hem of Woojin's shirt. 

"Interesting way of distracting," Woojin commented. His breathing fastened as Chan decided to open his belt. Sometimes his boyfriend acted so impatiently, abruptly, always surprising him. 

But he would go along with it. As always. 

* * *

  
"Seungmin." 

The person addressed stood at the kiosk and was busy with checking out the different sandwiches in the showcase. He did not even look up to Hyunjin and ordered a sandwich with cheese and salad. Nevertheless, he had at least the decency to answer with, "Ah, it's you again. How has your day been so far?" 

Hyunjin smiled and put the money on the counter to pay Seungmin's order. 

The younger was flustered but did not say anything against it.

"My day has been great," Hyunjin answered, "And yours? Where do you have class now?" 

Seungmin bit into his sandwich and chewed slowly while moving away from the kiosk. 

Hyunjin followed him.

"Third floor," Seungmin finally replied. 

"I'll walk with you." 

The two boys crossed the auditorium to get to the staircase. 

"By the way, I've begun reading 'The lunatic painter'. And I have some theories," Hyunjin told. He was a lot more relaxed than last time since he was very comfortable with this kind of topic. Furthermore, he knew that he could tackle Seungmin's interest like that. 

"Theories?" Seungmin seemed indeed kind of interested. 

"Yeah. I think that the protagonist is an autist. He doesn't know how to behave and how to articulate his intentions. Therefore, he expresses his inner world by painting crazy stuff," Hyunjin explained, "His works are a cry for help, and nobody understands it. I think because people have their prejudices. They don't know what it's like to be isolated and becoming insane." 

Seungmin stopped. "I've never thought about it that far. I mean, it's obvious that he wants to portray his feelings through his paintings. But the assumption that he's an autist is … clever. How did you get there?" 

Hyunjin smiled again, proud of himself to impress _the_ Kim Seungmin. The younger was a little genius as he had heard from other students. So receiving compliments from him was pure gold. 

"There is this one paragraph describing that the protagonist’s soul is basically split into many parts. It kinda reminds me of _'_ _Harry Haller'_ from _'_ _Der Steppenwolf'_." 

Seungmin's eyes widened. "You read German books as well?" 

"Uhm, not in general, but it’s well known and culturally important, so …" Hyunjin shrugged. "Anyways, autism can also be described as a developmental disorder with a hundred faces. Maybe that's a little bit too abstract, but for me this scene was a hint of the character's problems. And his potential suicidal thoughts because he doesn't have assurance about his true personality."

Seungmin ate his sandwich fully and stopped in the corridor. He leaned against the railing of the gallery and looked down. The break would last ten minutes longer until the next lesson. "That's wicked," he claimed, "I love this book and you gave me a totally new perspective on it. Thank you." He smiled before sighing. "Sorry, it's just … overwhelming." 

Hyunjin joined him, giggling. "Well, the painter's called lunatic after all."

Seungmin shook his head. "No, not the book." He propped his chin onto his palm. "Actually, I had been believing people about you being just a pretty face. But you're very intelligent and well educated. I think I've never met a person like you." He hesitated. "It’s so rare to talk with someone like this. You’re so ... honest."

Hyunjin blushed and laughed shyly. At the same time he felt sick. _Honest_. He was supposed to be honest, yet he was standing here, flirting with Seungmin for what? A stupid bet. "Thank you. You’re very special too." 

There was silence for a moment. 

"If you’re interested in my knowledge in other areas, I can show you more," Hyunjin suggested. His heart was beating faster again. 

"What do you have in mind?"

"I know methods to relax tension. It's important for sports."

Seungmin hummed. "I'm informed already." 

"Well, I truly believe that, but I doubt that you have someone who knows about massages?" 

Seungmin frowned and looked directly at Hyunjin.

"I know some techniques. I'm an amateur, but I'd love to help you out." 

Seungmin snorted. "How noble of you." He seemed to think about the offer. 

Hyunjin was watching him expectantly.

“At yours?” 

Hesitantly, Hyunjin nodded. He was aware of Seungmin being suspicious. They had not been knowing each other for long, so he was still not sure whether the other would agree on the suggestion. 

“I guess, it’s never bad to increase one’s own wisdom,” Seungmin decided. 

Happily Hyunjin smiled and nodded in agreement. 

Seungmin took a look on the watch. “I have to go now.” He was about to leave when suddenly Hyunjin said, “It’s a date.” 

Seungmin stopped and took a deep breath. Then, he looked over his shoulder. “Probably in your dreams.” After having said so, he left the railing.

Hyunjin smirked.

Nope. Definitely a date. 


	3. Step 3 - having a cute study date

  
“Who’s the top and who’s the bottom?”, Minho asked. 

Hyunjin looked up from his book and frowned.

Meanwhile Changbin had a disturbed look on his face. Until now he had been busy with doing his homework. However, he never missed a chance to send judgemental glares toward his friend. 

“In their relationship.” Minho nodded into the direction of Woojin and Chan.

Both were standing in the middle of the auditorium since Chan needed advice for the banner. Next week would be another swimming competition with the neighbour school and they needed to pin posters for that event. Chaeryeong and Ryunjin were trying to fix them, but it was still uncertain whether it would look its best on that place. 

“Why is it important?” Hyunjin murmured and shook his head. Sometimes he wondered what was wrong with Minho. He was just so … random. 

Minho grinned. “It’s not, but it’s interesting. I mean, I get that Woojin’s soft and cute for Chan. However, he seems kind of demanding.” 

Changbin clicked his tongue and put his pen down. “You think so? Usually Chan’s in charge.” 

Minho giggled. “I know. That’s the exact reason why the thought’s so hot.” 

Hyunjin was becoming dizzy. _Hot?_ He would probably never understand Minho’s perspective on various matters. Ironically he could not stop thinking about this irrelevant question now as well. That was probably the power of his Hyung. He was able to make people interested into absolutely dispensable topics. Perhaps this was the reason why he was so popular amongst different students. He was able to integrate himself easily into every conversation without even trying. 

“Just think about Chan who melts as soon as he is alone with Woojin. He seems tough, but he gets shy easily,” Minho continued, “And then he just cannot stop pleading and-”

Changbin groaned and threw his book into Minho’s direction. 

“Hey, so rude!” Minho complained. 

“Someone else’s sex life is none of your business. But if you’re so interested why don’t you just ask?” Changbin grumbled.

Minho blinked several times. “That’s a great idea!” He looked over to both of them. 

They seemed finished (and by the way also satisfied with the result), so there was no further reason to hold back. 

“Woojin! Chan!”

“What, that was a jo-” Changbin facepalmed himself. “Whatever. Nobody ever listens to me.” 

Hyunjin chuckled because this statement was sadly very true. Again, he was amazed by Minho’s boldness. He was never really shy about asking every type of question. At least he was like this with his friends. With strangers he rather acted coldly. This was why Hyunjin kind of appreciated his open behaviour. Just sometimes it was very challenging. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Woojin asked. He was holding Chan’s hand. 

The younger was sipping his pineapple juice through a straw, mildly interested in the approaching conversation.

“I wanted to ask who of you bottoms and who tops,” Minho asked directly.

Chan nearly spit out the juice and started coughing.

Worried, Woojin patted his back. 

In the meantime, Hyunjin’s face was becoming hot enough to fry some eggs on it. He tried to stare into his book convulsively. Besides, he was almost finished with it and could not wait to suggest Seungmin one of his favourite works. 

“That’s … a very … intimate question,” Woojin claimed.

Minho smirked. “I know, but we’ve been speculating about it since both of you are alphas.”

“No, _you_ have been speculating about it. Don’t drag me into this bullshit,” Changbin complained, nearly about to throw his hands at Minho’s comments. 

“First of all, it’s odd to call us alphas,” Chan stated, "Secondly, it’s really none of your business. And thirdly, you do know that switching exists as well?” His voice had been becoming gradually quieter. 

“Well, yeah, but what about preferences?” Minho sighed dramatically, "Both of you like routine."

Woojin, however, seemed kind of amused. “Well, do you have any assumptions?” 

Chan hit his shoulder. “Woojin!”

“What? I think that this is funny.” 

Minho laughed and supported his lower arm onto the table. He protracted his answer by looking at both intensely, switching from one side to the other. “I think that Chan takes it.” 

Chan gasped and hid his face behind Woojin's shoulder, again, shocked at Minho's boldness (you could never get used to it).

Woojin seemed to be honestly surprised. “Oh, is that so? Interesting. Usually people tend to give the opposite answer.” 

Chan became red and groaned in annoyance, probably questioning why Woojin was even bothered by this kind of discussion. 

“Really? People ask you?” Minho laughed again. “Well, I’m not too superficial. The fact that you’re calm doesn’t mean that you’re the bottom. And your hands are way bigger than Chan’s, so …” 

Woojin grinned and squeezed Chan’s hand tightly before lifting their arms a bit up. Chan’s whole hand fitted perfectly between his thumb and index finger. 

“Well, true.” 

“Oh, so I have my answer!” Minho stated joyfully. 

Chan’s face became red. The captain decided to drag his boyfriend away (probably to sue him), and Minho returned to his lunch, obviously satisfied. 

“I love those kind of games.”

“What kind of games?” Changbin questioned sarcastically. “The ‘I want to annoy people constantly’- game?”

Minho stuck his tongue out. “No, I mean games where you have to take guesses.” He looked over to Hyunjin, who was already immersed by his book again. “Hm, I think it’s also interesting to guess whether Hyunjin would top Seungmin.” 

The younger flinched. “Excuse me?” 

“I mean, you told us that you two are going to meet.”

“Yeah, so that I could give him a massage,” Hyunjin replied, blushing.

Minho whistled. “Sounds promising.”

Promising? What did that even mean?   
Hyunjin sighed and put his book into his bag. He could not concentrate longer anyway. “I don’t plan to have … sex with him, okay?” Gosh, it was even hard to use the particular term. He gulped and looked away. Why should he give his virginity to a person whom he did not even know that well? 

Seungmin was indeed very sweet, yes, but that was not a good reason to get into his pants. Although Hyunjin was somehow not only attracted to his personality but also his body. The younger was athletic, but slim and tender, his thighs were lean, yet they seemed soft and-

He shook his head lightly. No, wrong thoughts. That was definitely not appropriate. 

“Whatever,” Hyunjin said, “I’m going to go to the baseball field.” 

“To check him out?” Minho winked. 

“No, I just want to tell him when exactly he should come over.” Therefore, Hyunjin packed his things and went to the baseball field. He wanted to bring over Yeji's clothes anyway, so it was a good opportunity to ask Seungmin about the actual plans. 

The team was in the middle of training. As a result Hyunjin decided to simply watch them until they would do a break. 

"Go, Yeji!" Sungjin shouted. 

Yeji took a deep breath, bent her knee and pulled the ball near to her face. Then, she made some fast steps and threw it with a lot of strength toward Seungmin. 

Seungmin reacted quickly.

Hyunjin blinked like two times and the younger was already running. The others tried to chase the ball but he had hit it too strong. 

Seungmin made it to the second base. If he had been running without hesitating he would have easily make it to the third base. 

Hyunjin kept watching until Sungjin announced the break. He smiled as Seungmin discovered him. 

"What are you doing here?" Seungmin asked and stroked over his sweaty forehead. He looked gorgeous in that uniform. Blue suited him very well, and the cap looked cute too. 

Seriously, why did Hyunjin find everything about him so endearing?

"My dear sister likes to forget her jacket." He hold out the piece of clothes, which was quickly grabbed by Yeji. She hit his shoulder and hugged him from behind. 

"Oh, my hero!" she joked and grinned. Then, she went to Sungjin, who wanted to talk about her throw. 

Hyunjin scratched the back of his head. "Well, and I wanted to ask you when you’d like to come over on Friday." 

Seungmin propped his bat onto the ground and leaned on it. "Maybe around 4 p.m.?"

"Sure. Can't wait." Hyunjin hesitated. "Anyways, you do study hard for the upcoming exams, don’t you?" 

Seungmin frowned. "Yeah, I don't want my grades to suffer from training." 

Hyunjin took a deep breath. “Maybe we could study together? I need to improve my skills in maths.” 

Seungmin blinked a few times before he started laughing lightly. “Studying? Us together?” He brushed a few hair strands out of his forehead. “Okay, _that_ would be definitely a date.”

Hyunjin was so shocked that he could not even answer. It was probably Seungmin’s humour. He was not sure. He only knew that he was extremely overwhelmed. 

“Sorry, it’s just … Nobody ever suggests to study together,” Seungmin claimed after having calmed down from his little giggle attack, “I’d love to study with you.” 

“Really? It only takes me asking about studying together in order to convince you?”

Seungmin snorted. “Convince me? What are you talking about?” He crossed his arms and gave Hyunjin an amused gaze. “I don’t need to be convinced. Your knowledge is already attractive, and the fact that you’re eager to learn even more makes it … hot.” 

Hyunjin was about to answer something, but then Sungin asked Seungmin to join him and Yeji. 

“Sorry, I have to go. I’ll talk to you again about our ‘study date’, or however you want to name it.” Seungmin was still amused and left Hyunjin, who looked after him. 

His heart was out of control _again._ Seungmin found him hot? Or was that a joke? Or a half-joke? 

However, Hyunjin was impressed by Seungmin’s point of view. He did not define him as attractive based on his looks. No, he was clever enough to look behind this facade. 

Actually, Hyunjin had never felt this beautiful before. 

* * *

The biggest downside of this bet was that Hyunjin had to keep Minho up to date. The news about their plan to study together sounded rather lame to the older, but Hyunjin was excited. 

Somehow he could not wait to be with Seungmin in the library, a place full of books and peace. Sometimes he imagined that this would be their special place. A place which connected them both. After all, the library had been kind of the kickstarter for their rather weird relationship. 

“Seriously, in the library?” Minho repeated. His hands clammed around the brink of the pool. 

Hyunjin was sitting there, busy with stopping the time for Chaeryeong. Therefore, he concentrated on the stopwatch, trying to ignore his Hyung. 

“We’re still going to meet at my house.” Hyunjin rolled his eyes as Minho started to be annoying again. “I just really need to study for maths.” 

“You’re trying to impress him.” 

Hyunjin sighed. “Actually, I’ve already been through this phase. He finds me hot anyway.”

“Whoa, what, did he say that?” Now, all of the sudden Minho seemed very anticipated.

Hyunjin tried to lead the focus onto Chaeryeong who had finished her round. “New record,” he announced.

“Yes!” The girl held out her fists into the air, nearly drowning because she had forgotten that she needed to support herself on the brink. 

"Stop trying to avoid the question!" Minho complained. 

"I'm not avoiding anything. I'm concentrating," Hyunjin explained and sunk into the water before swimming a bit, only to warm up. 

He did not have the chance to follow this action for too long since Chan clapped. "Guys! I have to tell you something." 

The others joined him, looking expectant.

"We'll have an audition," Chan stated. 

The next moment a freckled boy entered the swim hall. 

Hyunjin blinked a few times. "Felix," he mumbled. 

Also the rest of the group started whispering. It was known that Felix was a pretty close friend of Seungmin, so many were becoming a little bit irritated. 

"Is that some kind of a complex?" Changbin asked, "Since the baseball team has someone younger too?" 

Chan shook his head. "Felix is interested and wants to try out. Usually we don't neglect auditions, so why should we stop him?" That was a valid argument. Chan did not like to test people within specific categories, or at least not categories which were solely focused on physical ability. He liked to have good-hearted people in his group. His motto was: "If we cannot work together, we won't come far." The best aspect about being in the swim team was to improve together. It was not about outshining each other, but shining as one unit. 

"So, we're not that picky," Chan explained to Felix, "but it would be helpful if you didn't drown while swimming. Just show us some basics." 

Felix laughed, and then nodded. Notwithstanding, he remained kind of shy. He touched his neck as he tried to check his pulse. “May I swim against someone? Then, it’s easier for me to focus.” 

Surprised, Chan nodded. “Sure. What’s your discipline?”

“Butterfly.”

The group began murmuring. 

“Well, I’m the only one who has butterfly as their first discipline,” Chan mentioned.

Minho leaned toward Hyunjin and whispered: “The poor boy’s dead.”

Hyunjin stayed silent, but he agreed. Everyone improved with every training session, however, Chan remained as the strongest of them. 

“Okay, let’s do it then,” Felix suggested and pulled his t-shirt over his head before putting it onto the bench. His body was more on the tender side. Nevertheless, he seemed fit since his muscles were defined.

Both Australian boys climbed up onto the start blocks and bent forward, getting ready for the signal. 

After it had been shot they dived into the water and started flapping their arms. 

"Whoa, he's fast!", Hyunjin stated, impressed. 

The rest of was cheering for them, hyping them up until they finished their round. 

Chan was the winner, still, the gap between him and his competitor had been surprisingly small. 

"Ah, you’re too fast!", Felix said and laughed. 

"Are you kidding? I was worried that you would catch up any sec to bite me!” Chan had to laugh as well. 

They got out of the pool to watch the time which had been stopped by Changbin. 

“Those are good times!” Chan stated, “With some training you’ll become a beast.”

Felix got shy again, smiling anyway. “I just want to swim, but becoming a beast can stay optional.” 

“Cool, then we have a new member,” Chaeryeong rejoiced. 

After training all of them helped with cleaning up and then left the swim hall. 

Outside there was Changbin, waiting for Hyunjin, but also talking to Felix. 

Hyunjin joined them. “Where’s Minho?”

“Had to leave for dance training. I think he started panicking because of the competition,” Changbin explained. 

It was really unfortunate that the dance competition was so close to the sponsorship appointment. Minho had to shift between two duties forth and back. Still, he did not make his exhaustion too obvious. 

“I see.” Hyunjin turned into the direction of Felix. “You’re really good. Butterfly’s quite complex.” 

Felix shrugged. “I’ve been swimming since I’m four. You can get used to everything.”

“Humble just as skilled,” Hyunjin commented, shaking his head in amusement. 

Felix smiled. “You’re so nice! Exactly what Seungmin has been telling me this whole week.” 

The news shocked Hyunjin a little bit. “He talks about me?” 

Without any shame Felix nodded. “It was also his idea that I should join the swim team. Not only because all my other friends are involved in club activities, but also because he mentioned that you were really nice.” He chuckled. “I’m just glad that I won’t end up like Jisung. You know, just being the substitute.”

Silence.

“Aaand I shouldn’t have said this,” Felix mumbled, embarrassed. 

“N-No, it’s okay,” Hyunjin replied, still confused. 

“I should go,” Felix decided and laughed shyly before leaving. 

* * *

Finally, Hyunjin had the perfect metaphor. He knew exactly what Seungmin was to him.

Seungmin was an ocean. His inner waves soft and tender, but also strong and intimidate. As soon as you looked at the sea you would become calm, and he had exactly the same effect on Hyunjin. 

He owned a seemingly endless amount of mysteries inside of him. Everybody thought that there would be loads of secrets. Just like the ocean. Everything seemed so wide to an eternity. 

But maybe Hyunjin could be able to ship over, could be able to dive deep into the water, could be able to learn what was going on inside of Seungmin’s head. He simply needed to make sure that he would not drown.

Seungmin was ridiculously cute with his round glasses. Hyunjin had not been knowing that the younger preferred to wear lenses at school since it was more practical with training as well. But he looked so gorgeous like this, sitting there, bent over his book with a concentrated face. Sometimes a few hair strands fell onto his forehead before he stroked them back. He puckered his lips and tapped with his pen on the edge of the table. 

Seungmin’s writing was neat and dignified too. It was satisfying watching him. 

This was also a problem because Hyunjin was pretty much distracted by him, ignoring his own tasks. 

“Something’s wrong?” Seungmin suddenly asked.

Hyunjin flinched and shook his head. 

Therefore, Seungmin raised his eyebrows. “Were you staring at me?” 

“Ah, n-no,” Hyunjin muttered and laughed shakily. 

Seungmin sighed. “How’s it going with your homework?” he asked instead of interrogating him further. 

Hyunjin scratched the back of his neck. “It’s okay. I just have problems with geometry, as always. I don’t get this Cartesian coordinate system.” He fumbled with his papers and his supplies before shifting on his chair. Somehow he was kind of nervous. 

“Show me the exercise. I may be not in the same year as you, but maybe I can help.” Well, that was probably very true since he also participated in mathematics competitions regularly. 

Seungmin looked at the exercise and then picked three pens, constructing a coordinate system. “So you just have to imagine where the vectors point to. Visualizing often helps a lot.” He continued explaining, and Hyunjin noticed that he was so pure. Although he was instructing he did not belittle the other. It was possible to meet with him on the same level.

They were interrupted by a girl who had approached them, practically silently. That was why Hyunjin nearly freaked out as he noticed her. 

“Hyunjin, that’s such a coincidence! You study for exams as well?”

Hyunjin had a hard time remembering her, but he guessed that it was a girl from his parallel class. He could not be sure since he had never even spoken to her. Besides, it bothered him that she just started talking to him without caring about Seungmin. She was acting like the younger was not even there. 

“And you’re doing maths! I can help you with that, I’m decent in this subject.” 

Seungmin shut up and was doing his tasks again. Furthermore, he seemed pretty annoyed at the unfortunate interruption. It seemed like his ego was hurt because another person was just sneaking up onto Hyunjin and did not even care about the fact that he was supposed to explain the task. 

“No, thanks,” Hyunjin replied, “I have a helping hand already, right, pup?” 

Seungmin was briefly flustered at the literal pet name before clearing his throat. “Sure, sweetie,” he returned dryly. 

Hyunjin was about to burst out in laughter, looking at the furious face of the girl. 

“Well, then have a good day, I guess,” she grumbled and left. 

As soon as she was gone Hyunjin started giggling. 

Also Seungmin could not suppress a smile. “What was that? Pup?” he asked and put his pen down.

“I’ve been wanting to call you like that for a while,” Hyunjin admitted, realizing that this answer was probably pretty much creepy.

Seungmin blinked a few times. “Really? Why?” 

Hyunjin blushed slightly. “I don’t know. You kind of remind me of a dog. It’s cute.”

“Cute,” Seungmin repeated and stared at the table, “I see.” 

The rest of the session was silent, only interrupted by Hyunjin’s questions. By the end of it they decided to simply hang out in the library, looking for new books. 

“I love walking between the shelves. It’s like …”

“... walking through another world. Silent. Peaceful. Wholesome.”

Seungmin sighed. “It’s so cheesy of you to end my sentences.”

“I’m more of the romantic type, I guess.” 

Seungmin rolled his eyes, blushing. “Whatever you say, Hyunjin.” He pulled one book out and stroked its cover. 

“You should read for me some time”, Hyunjin said, “Your voice’s pretty.” Okay, now it was extremely obvious that he was trying to flirt. Moreover, he thought that Seungmin had to be aware of his poor attempts. 

Still, the younger did not comment on it.

“Maybe.” Seungmin opened the book and leaned against the shelf. “I always open a book in the middle of the story to get a feeling.”

“I always read the beginning for that.”

“You’re very instinctive, aren’t you?”

Hyunjin laughed quietly and inspected the other books. Then he noticed a poster pinned at the wall across from them. “There's going to be a lecture from an author next week. His name’s Kang Sunwon.” 

“A newbie,” Seungmin said, “He’s actually pretty good.” 

“We can go,” Hyunjin suggested. 

Seungmin put the book back and crossed his arms. His cheeks were flushed as he was looking at Hyunjin. “You’d like to go?”

“Lectures can be really interesting. And I would get an autograph for you. So you can be the one who can say that you’ve been supporting him from the beginning,” Hyunjin muttered, “I mean, if that’s too boring for you …”

Seungmin shook his head. “No. Absolutely not. Not with you.” His eyes widened and he bit his bottom lip. He seemed to regret what he had said. 

Hyunjin felt like kissing him, so he slid his hand into Seungmin’s hair and brushed through it softly. Slowly he leaned forward, just to be stopped by Seungmin’s hand. 

“Don’t you think this is dangerous? All in public?” Seungmin whispered, pushing him lightly back. 

It was. So both of them got out of the library to get something to eat. But they kept a certain distance to resist all those temptations. 

* * *

  
Minho groaned. “So close!” 

“Yeah, pretty close.” Hyunjin was dozing off again. He had just told Minho what had happened in the library. 

“Have you ever kissed someone?”, Minho asked curiously. 

“You should know that. I had to kiss Chan during truth or dare last year.” 

“Doesn’t count.” 

But for Hyunjin it was not about what counted and what not. It was absolutely irrelevant. For him it was important to stick close to Seungmin. He felt like starving. Without the other’s presence he was so uneasy. Like Seungmin could be just a beautiful dream which may disappear any second. 

“Well, according to your definition I am unkissed then.” Hyunjin wanted to drop the topic. It was no big deal. Why was it so important whether you had kissed before or not? The same applied to virginity. It was like a construction made by society to raise uneasiness. Like your worth would be downgraded as soon as you had sex. It was pathetic that everyone made a fuss about the first time. It could be romantic. It could be not. Hyunjin did not want to waste thoughts about what was “right”.

“I mean, it’s not important,” Minho suddenly said, “Chan and Woojin are so attached to each other, but actually they do not kiss that much in public as you would expect from a fresh couple.”

“They’ve been dating since a few months.” 

“Yeah, but they are still so fresh in their love yet grown up.” 

Somehow Minho was indeed right. Hyunjin just felt those adult vibes from both of them, although they were teenagers as well. Sometimes they were subtle, sometimes they kissed. It always fit to the situation, still they would never think about what was appropriate and not.   
  
Chan came to them, an unhappy look on his face. 

“What’s wrong?” Minho asked. 

“The swim hall is booked for the next few days by some courses for children swimming. This is so annoying! I wanted to train at the weekend as well.” He groaned in annoyance. “This is so unfair! The soccer team for example can go anywhere with a little bit of grass. Why did I choose to found a swim team?!” 

“Stop whining,” Minho teased, “We can just do cardio and lifting.”

“Not everyone has access to a gym,” Chan reminded him, “Ugh, I have to come up with another program. Just make sure that you all stay in shape. I’ll let the others know.” He waved and ran across the auditorium to catch Ryujin and Chaeryeong, who were about to enter the cafeteria.

“He looks really stressed,” Hyunjin stated, worried.

“Hopefully he has a lot of sex.”

“Hyung!” Hyunjin hit Minho’s arm.

The other complained immediately. “I’m being serious! Sex is great to relieve stress.”

“Why are you so dirty minded?” Hyunjin mumbled. It was not like Minho slept around (against any assumptions from other students). He just had more of a weird and also perverted humour, however, Hyunjin thought that it was unfair how some people thought of Minho as a whore. He was very busy with all the training and school, so he had never even been in a relationship. Some kisses here and there, but nothing serious. Actually, he was quite inexperienced (which did not change the fact that he could be very bold).

Minho shrugged and grinned. “Maybe I’m a bit jealous.”

“Jealous?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I mean of Chan and Woojin.They seem so …”

“... perfect.” 

“Exactly. They are super cute together and have probably a great sex life. Both are handsome and talented. The absolute power couple. It’s nearly to ideal. That’s why it makes me puke.” He laughed. 

Although Minho did not say it, Hyunjin knew that the older supported them honestly. Ironically he was one of the factors why they had gotten together in first place. Thanks to his boldness and his witty comments Chan and Woojin had to submit at a certain point. 

In the beginning it had been nerve wrecking for everyone since Chan was very insecure about the question whether he was even capable of a functioning relationship. Back then he had been suffering from bad mood swings. Luckily, Woojin was an expert at dealing with his tight schedule. 

“Hyunjin!” Yeji bounced upon him. “Do you have money? I want to buy something to drink.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Seriously, why do you always forget your wallet?” Hyunjin sighed and patted his pockets in an attempt to find some coins. He gave them to her.

“So, Seungmin’s going to come over today, right?” she asked and accepted the money thankfully, “But mom and dad want to go out in the evening, so you should consider to introduce him before they leave.”

“Okay.”

“And I'm going to meet the girls. They want to see that new cafe down the street. But you two should be fine on your own,” she told and ruffled his hair, “See ya later!” 

Hyunjin looked after her before noticing the smirk on Minho’s face. “What?” 

“Nothing. It’s just the perfect opportunity. You two … alone.”

“You’re not scared that you’ll lose the bet?”

Minho rolled his eyes, still grinning. “Hyunjin, sometimes losing doesn’t mean losing. I still get a lot of fun.” 

Whatever that meant. 


	4. Step 4 - giving each other a "massage"

Seungmin’s fingers stroke along the badges of the trophies. “That are a lot of prices,” he commented. 

Hyunjin was sitting on his bed, watching the younger. They had been in his room for only half an hour since his parents had wanted to talk to Seungmin longer. They did not say it explicitly, but it was obvious that they were practically smitten by him. 

No wonder. Seungmin was extremely polite and at the same time somehow witty. Intelligent and sweet. 

Hyunjin might get obsessed with his whole being.

After they had ended the conversation his parents had left the house to have a nice evening. It was not too late, but Yeji was also already gone. Therefore, both boys were all by themselves in the house. 

“You like them?” 

“Well, no. I hate swimming and water.” Seungmin backed off from the shelf.

Hyunijn’s eyes widened, surprised. “Really? Why?” 

“I … don’t like to talk about that.” 

There was an uneasy tone in his voice, so Hyunjin avoided to ask further questions. After all it was their first time meeting each other in private. He did not want to screw it up.

“Okay, then come here. You do seem a bit tensed,” Hyunjin suggested. 

Seungmin crawled up on his bed and laid down, closing his eyes. “Your bed’s so big.” Slowly he opened his eyes again. “And the fact that you have a room by yourself is also nice. The house has plenty of space.”

Hyunjin shrugged. “Hm, yeah. My parents had been wanting such a house for a long time.” He lifted his hand to brush some hair strands out of Seungmin’s face, however, he hesitated, looking at the other nervously. His heart was about to go crazy, it pounded so hard in his chest that it hurt. 

"Why do you play baseball?" he asked instead of doing a move.

Seungmin was a little bit confused by the question. "It's fun." 

The reply caused Hyunjin to giggle. "I saw you playing. This is more than fun to you. You seemed so focused."

"Glad that you keep stalking me." Seungmin sat up and leaned against the wall. "Baseball has a lot to do with calculations. How to hit the ball. How to win over the speed. How to maximize the number of bases you can get." He looked at the ceiling. "It's a very secure sport. I like structure." That fitted his image so well. Additionally, Hyunjin thought that the younger was very tedious, always making sure that his room was clean. 

"What about you? Why do you swim?", Seungmin questioned, seeming actually interested. 

"I saw this one documentary about Sun Yang when I was eleven and yeah …" 

Seungmin lifted his eyebrows, smirking. "Really?" It was like his deep eyes were able to X-ray Hyunjin, knowing exactly when the other lied. 

Hyunjin looked at him and then laughed. "No, actually it had begun when I was four. Me and my family went to the beach and I saw the ocean. I did not even swim, but the sight was so beautiful. I actually wanted to dive deep into it. And somehow …" he hesitated for a moment. 

He feared that he would be judged, but Seungmin was listening attentively. Consequently, he went on, "... somehow I'm convinced that I could fly in my past life. That's why I decided to swim in this life." He played with the hem of his shirt. "You know, since the horizon connects the sky and the sea. I want to complete the circle by doing what feels natural and right."

Seungmin chuckled. "That sounds so odd, but also beautiful. Thanks for sharing that with me." 

Relieved, Hyunjin sighed and smiled. "My pleasure." Finally, he had the guts to touch Seungmin's face, brushing his hair gently away. His cheek felt so soft, he wanted to caress it. 

Seungmin closed his eyes. "It's weird," he suddenly said, "I always thought that it would be so hard to talk to you. Since you are _the_ Hwang Hyunjin."

Hyunjin laughed. "A lot of people think that I'm picky." 

"Well, aren't you? I hope that I'm not an ordinary visit to you."

"Of course you're not." Hyunjin stopped his action and leaned over to his bedside table. There was a little music box which he connected with his phone via bluetooth. It would be easier to talk for him if there was some music playing. He hit the button for his favourite playlist on spotify and put his phone upside down on the table. 

"Sometimes I feel like you're the only one who gets me," Hyunjin murmured.

"Do I?" Seungmin smirked and sat up. "Interesting. I kind of have the same feelings about you."

Feelings. It was funny. Because Hyunjin had been thinking that Seungmin was the kind of person who would say "I don't do feelings", yet he was sitting here, looking at Hyunjin with his mesmerizing, deep-brown eyes and admitted how he was somehow moved by Hyunjin. By his character? His words? His aura? 

Hyunjin wanted to know everything. 

"I heard from Felix that you talk about me," he told. 

The comment took Seungmin off guard, but then he smiled. "Well, yeah. Am I not allowed to?” His eyes sparkled for a short moment as he lifted his chin. The ray of the sun reflected itself in his pupil. 

Hyunjin blushed slightly. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered. I just don’t get why you're even interested.” 

“Me neither,” Seungmin admitted, “But I don’t want to understand it. It takes the magic away.” 

“What magic?”

Seungmin propped himself on his arms to lean towards Hyunjin’s face. “What do you think?” he whispered against the other’s mouth, smiling as he noticed that the older turned red again. He plopped onto the mattress again and stretched. “So, shall we begin?”

“What?”

“With the massage. I’m looking forward to experiencing your extraordinary skills,” Seungmin announced a little bit sarcastically. He sat up again and stared at Hyunjin expectantly. 

“I can do your nape first,” Hyunjin offered. 

Seungmin nodded and turned his back toward Hyunjin. 

Firstly, the older was insecure, but then he gave a start by putting his fingers on Seungmin’s neck. With a little bit of force he drew his fingers in circular motions, feeling the tension of the other. “You trained hard, didn’t you?”

Seungmin hummed in agreement and closed his eyes, enjoying the pressure on his tensed muscles. 

They stayed mute while Hyunjin was busy with massaging Seungmin’s nape, having a concentrated look on his face. After about five minutes he asked whether they should continue with the back.

Seungmin seemed to hesitate, but then got rid of his shirt before tossing it to the end of the bed. 

Hyunjin tried not to stare, but he had to notice Seungmin’s tender shoulders, his narrow chest and his slim waist. His skin seemed so smooth and pure. Somehow he wanted to kiss it, curious about how soft it would feel on his lips. 

Seungmin laid himself onto his stomach and supported his chin on a pillow. 

“Uhm, I also have oil, so … If you’re okay with that …,” Hyunjin started.

“Use whatever you like. I’m fine with that,” Seungmin answered simply. 

Hyunjin decided to use the oil later to keep it slow and easy. Therefore, he began stroking with his hands over Seungmin’s back in order to warm it up. The younger’s back was slender, but still athletic - Hyunjin could feel the defined muscles under his fingertips. He acknowledged how Seungmin started relaxing. 

“You alright?”

“Sure.”

Hyunjin moved further on and kneaded the skin carefully. He nearly dozed off as his fingers trailed along Seungmin’s back, touching every inch in a slight thirsty way, a way which made obvious how mesmerized he was by the other’s appearance. 

He did not dare to vibrate because this would cause a lot of friction. Alternatively he did some circles. By now he was hovering over Seungmin, having his knees placed next to his hips.

“I’ll use oil, okay?”

“Go ahead.” 

Hyunjin leaned toward his beside table, opened the drawer and got the tube. As he straightened his back he wanted to unsnap it before he realized something.

“Something wrong?”

“A-Ah no …” Hyunjin turned red since he noticed that he accidentally took the lubricant instead of the oil out of his bedside table. (How had he thought that it would be a good idea to put both tubes in the same drawer?)

Quickly he returned the lubricant and picked the other tube. “Sorry, wrong tube.” 

Seungmin chuckled. “It’s okay.”

Hyunjin was still embarrassed, however, he managed to put some oil onto Seungmin’s back. 

Immediately the younger flinched lightly. “Sorry, it’s colder than expected,” he explained since Hyunjin was worried. 

“I see.” Hyunjin put his hands firmly on the skin again and spread the liquid. 

Again, Seungmin arched his back and breathed aloud.

“Are you really okay?” Hyunjin asked shakily. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Seungmin replied, “As I said: It’s cold.” 

Hyunjin nodded although Seungmin could not see it. Slowly he continued the massage and pressed his fingers into the other’s back, scattering the oil further until the skin was damp and a little bit slippery. He sucked in the air as he felt how warm Seungmin’s skin was. 

Was it because he was shy as well? It was hard to tell since Hyunjin could not even take a glimpse of his face.

He patted the skin which made some slick noises. “Does it feel good?”, he questioned. 

“It does,” Seungmin replied simply, probably too entranced by the massage. 

Hyunjin did not want to interrupt his relaxation, so he kept going. He laid his hands onto Seungmin’s shoulder blades and squeezed them a little bit. 

Seungmin gasped and arched his back stronger than before.

“Sorry!” 

“No, it’s okay. I’m just sensitive. It feels good,” Seungmin answered, his voice sounding a bit strained.

The reaction unsettled Hyunjin, but he did not stop. He remembered that Woojin had suggested to use more force to release the tension. So he put some more pressure onto Seungmin’s back, digging his fingertips lightly into the skin. He had made sure that his nails would be short enough, so he would not hurt the other.

Again, there was a gasp. 

This time he did not ask about Seungmin’s condition. He just assumed that this would be normal for massages, especially when you use more power. 

Seungmin shifted on the mattress, his hips touching the inner side of Hyunjin’s thigh. 

The sensation sent electrical shocks through Hyunjin’s spine, making him shiver a little bit. His fingers began trembling, but he tried to overshadow it by doing circular motions again. 

His neck became cold when he noticed a tremendous problem. Hastily, he tried to extend the session by beginning from the start. 

“How long do you want to do this?” Seungmin asked suddenly, “I mean, I’m enjoying it. But I don’t want you to get tired.”

“No, it’s … it’s completely fine.” Hyunjin’s voice sounded quite high pitched and it made him panic even more. 

He felt the pressure in his abdomen even stronger than before. Was it possible to simply disappear by transforming into air? He really wished that this was an option. But now he had to sit on his bed, bent over Seungmin while he was about to pop a boner. Never ever had he been in such a humiliating situation. He had experienced some embarrassing things in his life, but this was a complete new level. 

It was not unusual to have a boner out of nowhere. Nevertheless, Hyunjin was asking himself whether it was caused by Seungmin or not. At least his lust somehow increased as the younger sighed, enjoying the massage. 

Perhaps Hyunjin was the first one who was allowed to touch him like this. Should he ask? Would this seem possessive? But he was so curious. 

He gulped. “Seungmin, have you ever received a massage?” 

“No, why?”

“Curiosity.” Hyunjin’s hands wandered down before resting slightly above Seungmin’s hips. His legs were starting to get tired, but he was not allowed to sit down. Woojin had explained that it was totally fine to crouch on your partner as long as they are okay with it. But apparently this would not be okay at all.

“If you’re tired you can stop.” 

“No!” Hyunjin returned nearly harshly, almost regretting to be so determined according to his answer. 

Seungmin sighed. “Then sit down on my legs. Maybe it’ll get easier for you.”

No. It would definitely not be easier like this. Hyunjin was torn apart, so he simply tried to sit down lightly, so Seungmin would stop asking him. 

“It’s nice of you to treat me like a disease,” Seungmin commented, “It’s really okay to sit down completely. We’re friends.”

“Right. Friends,” Hyunjin mumbled and tried to sit down, hoping that his hard-on would not touch anything of Seungmin’s body. However, to do so he had to restrict himself in the range of his motions. 

Seungmin stayed silent until Hyunjin was not able to move his hands anymore because his boner hurt too bad. It felt like the air was punched out of his lungs. It was torture. 

“I think we’re done, aren’t we?” Seungmin shifted abruptly. 

This was why Hyunjin fell over. Luckily he caught himself by putting his hands onto the mattress next to Seungmin’s head. He did not dare to breath as he felt how his erection was pressed against Seungmin’s back. 

Both of them were completely silent. Even the music had stopped since the playlist was over. 

“Okay, then we’re not done,” Seungmin muttered.

“Pardon?” 

“Well, you can continue.”

Hyunjin was not only mortified but also flustered now. “Continue with what?”, he whispered.

“With _moving_ , stupid.” Seungmin sounded shaky as well before he hid his head in the crook of his arm. 

Maybe Hyunjin interpreted the statement completely wrong, and he was about to scare the younger off. The thought alone made him sick. He did not want Seungmin to despise him. On the other side Seungmin seemed relatively chill, laying there and waiting for … yes, for what? 

Hyunjin’s fingers clutched onto the sheets and he rocked his hips forward. 

Seungmin tensed and gasped lightly, not saying anything. 

This was madness. Hyunjin was seriously about to go insane. Instead of stopping the action he still continued to move his hips. Slowly he sank down until his dick was basically pressed onto Seungmin’s butt. His breathing fastened before he backed off. 

“Sorry, I … can’t do that.”

Seungmin needed a few moments before he turned around and sat up. 

Finally, Hyunjin could see the tent forming in the younger’s pants. Firstly, he had assumed that the other would act bold (as always) but instead Seungmin’s face was just as red as his. His eyes wandered through the room before they focused on Hyunjin. He seemed so vulnerable, unsure of what to do. 

Hyunjin was overwhelmed as well because there was the evidence that Seungmin was not an ice block. And no, this was not about the bet. It was not about telling Minho that Seungmin was not only “fridge boy”. And it was also not about his triumph. 

It was about experiencing this blessing. Yes, Hyunjin felt weirdly blessed to see Seungmin so exasperated, lost for any words, although he was usually good at making meddlesome comments. Now he was silent and not able to move, probably not knowing what to do about the fact that he was clearly aroused. Aroused in front of another person. 

“You don’t have to be sorry,” he said after a while of silence. He crawled to Hyunjin, still insecure, before looking directly into the other’s face. “I just thought that …”

“What?” 

“If you let me, I would just …” He did not even finish the sentence. Instead he closed his eyes and gave a small peck onto Hyunjin’s opened mouth. His face was too heated, maybe he was about to faint, but he resisted and stared into Hyunjin’s eyes directly. 

At this moment Hyunjin snapped and pulled the other to him, pressing his lips onto Seungmin’s, ravished by the warmth he sensed. The kiss became more passionate than intended, but he did not care anymore. 

“Oh,” Seungmin said as they pulled apart. He smirked lightly. “Perhaps it’s my turn now. I mean, if you’re set on for a _massage_.” Out of nowhere he grabbed Hyunjin’s crotch. The combination of the firm action and his cheeky way of implying his plan caused Hyunjin to groan. 

“Shit, yes. If you want to as well,” Hyunjin gasped. 

Instead of answering Seungmin kissed along Hyunjin’s neck and dragged the other to the heading section of the bed. There he forced the older to lean against it and pushed his thighs apart. 

However, Hyunjin did not liked the idea to be so far away from Seungmin, so he pulled the younger onto his lap. 

“You're giving me a hard time like this,” Seungmin sighed, annoyed at the interruption.

“I can see that”, Hyunjin returned and pulled at Seungmin’s pants. He unbuckled the belt and stripped the piece of clothing down until it got stuck between their bodys. “Don’t be mad. You can sit on my thigh while you keep going.” Hyunjin chuckled and kissed the other’s cheek. He doubted reality as Seungmin undressed himself until he sat on Hyunjin’s thigh, only with his underwear. 

“You know, it’s unfair that you still have your clothes on,” Seungmin claimed. Still, his hand sneaked into Hyunjin’s loose pants before grabbing his dick. He massaged it and began rutting against the other’s thigh. He was not even noticing. It was like his hips had a mind on their own, wanting to move since the lust was unbearable. 

“You have lube in that drawer, right?” Seungmin opened said drawer and grabbed the white tube.

“How-”

“You don’t think that I didn’t notice how you were dumb enough to grab the lube instead of the oil, do you?” 

Hyunjin blushed again, smacking Seungmin's butt lightly. "It could happen to anyone!" 

Seungmin smiled. "Yeah sure, sweetie." He opened the tube and poured the fluidity over his hand before he forced it into Hyunjin's pants. 

"My pants are getting sticky …" 

"Oh, poor you," Seungmin teased and nudged Hyunjin's cheek. Then, he leaned to his ear and moaned lewdly into it, his hot breath causing goose bumps over Hyunjin's body. "You're quite big." 

"Thank you?", Hyunjin returned with a squeaky voice. 

Seungmin was still riding his thigh as he moved his hand smoothly along Hyunjin's length, teasing the tip from time to time by circling his thumb around it. 

He was so confident, it made Hyunjin dizzy. Overwhelmed by the sensation he held his breath for a few seconds, savoring how Seungmin's fingers were wrapped around him so perfectly, moving softly but at the same time sinfully. 

"Fuck, why are you so good at this?", Hyunjin groaned and pressed his head against the wall. 

"I mean, I should know how dicks work." Seungmin licked over Hyunjin's jawline, which was enough to trigger another messy make out session.

Hyunjin held Seungmin's nape and licked eagerly between his thin lips, causing desperate whines from the younger. He sucked the other's tongue, loving how it felt to brush against Seungmin's teeth from time to time. Then, he grabbed Seungmin's bum, squeezing it forcefully. 

"Hey, careful," Seungmin complained, moaning at the sensation. 

"You like this?" Hyunjin repeated the movement and Seungmin rocked his hip forward. 

"Ah, crap, it really hurts," Seungmin hissed, referring to his erection which made it even painful to keep his underwear on. 

Therefore, Hyunjin pushed his back onto the mattress. "Let's do something against it then." He removed the underwear slowly until it hung around Seungmin's ankles. 

Seungmin gasped and moved his head to the side, overwhelmed by the situation of being completely bare under Hyunjin's gazes. 

Hyunjin pulled his pants down and pressed his cock against Seungmin's before he started jacking them both off. 

It did not take long for him to come all over Seungmin's body. His orgasm hit him basically like a truck, so he needed to support himself on the bed. He let go off his own cock, but his hand was still moving around Seungmin's length. 

The younger bent his legs. He grabbed Hyunjin's shoulders, digging his nails into the skin. He moaned again, a little nasally before he kissed the other lightly. Then, he fell onto the mattress as he reached his high. 

Hyunjin did not believe in God, but he was sure that Seungmin was an angel. His orgasm-face was mesmerizing: the way his eyebrows were furrowed, the way he scrunched his nose, the way his lids were only half opened.

Seungmin's legs quivered before his body lost any tension. His breathing was heavy and his hands fell off Hyunjin's shoulders. 

"Well, I think that you're relaxed now," Hyunjin commented after having caught his breath, amused.

"Shut up." Seungmin put his arm over his eyes. 

Hyunjin stood up and got some tissues to clean them both. After that he leaned over to Seungmin and pushed his hand away. "Have I ever told you that you're so damn gorgeous?" he whispered, melting at the sight of Seungmin's pink cheeks. 

Seungmin sighed. "Stop being so cheesy." He sat up, pushing Hyunjin back. However, he wrapped his arms around the older's neck. "Sorry for making your sheets dirty." 

Hyunjin chuckled. "No problem." His hand brushed over Seungmin's chest, touching his bud just lightly to tease him. "Do you want to shower? Like … you know, with … me?" 

Seungmin chuckled. "Actually I'd love to, but I have to go home." 

Hyunjin looked at the clock. It was indeed already pretty late. 

"But thanks for the … massage. Next time I am going to do the same thing to you … with my mouth." 

Hyunjin's face looked pretty much stupid. 

As a result Seungmin had to laugh before standing up and collecting his clothes. While he dressed up Hyunjin played some music again. Afterwards he accompanied Seungmin downstairs. 

"Thanks for having me over," Seungmin said. 

Hyunjin thought that the other would kiss him again, but that was not the case. 

Instead, Seungmin waved and stepped over the threshold, leaving a still slightly confused Hyunjin behind. 

* * *

This time Hyunjin did not tell Minho what exactly had happened. The question, “How was it?” was briefly answered with a “Nice.”

Of course Minho tried to gain more information, but Hyunjin stayed mute. He just answered shortly, dodging everything embarrassing. 

Honestly, this afternoon with Seungmin had been fucking great. However, he was kind of humiliated by the fact that they had become so intimate. Not that he was regretting it. It was more the aspect that Minho had been making jokes for several days about it, and now both of them had actually practiced sexual intercourse.

Hyunjin could not stop thinking about Seungmin being so confident and sly. Actually, he had thought that the other was kind of a prude in those kind of areas, only focused on studies, books and baseball. Now he was aware of the fact that Seungmin could feel something like lust and desperation. 

Now the question was: What should he do with this information? 

He did not particularly avoid Seungmin, but he was glad to see him not very often. They had not really many chances to speak to each other anyway. 

“So the swim hall is finally free again,” Chan claimed, “Therefore, we can set up everything for the competition with the neighbour school. Does anyone have any suggestions?” 

“A relay is a must,” Changbin said, “But I think we should also do some other fun games.” 

They started a discussion which became quickly heated. Chan was able to calm everyone down as he knocked on the table. 

“Okay, then we can think of decorations and necessary equipments.” 

“What about music?” Felix asked. 

“Music?” 

“Yeah, would be more fun. I have a box and I’m sure that we can borrow some others as well.” 

Chan seemed to ponder about it. “Actually, that’s a great idea. Would you like to make a playlist?” 

Felix grinned. “I’ve been waiting for this question.” 

Before they could continue Woojin appeared. “Hey,” he greeted Chan and gave him a package of pineapple juice, “Do you know where Lia is? We have to practice our duo again.”

Chan shrugged. “Maybe she’s in the schoolyard with the other girls.” He pouted. “But I thought that you would sit with us during break.”

Woojin sighed. “Yeah, that was the actual plan, however, our teacher starts to pick on us again since we’re not stable with the song. I think she is about to go nuts because of her panic. That’s why she’s been criticizing my high notes for the whole week.” He frowned and played with Chan’s curls. “I’m sorry that I don’t have much time for you right now.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I know that the choir is important to you,” Chan returned and patted Woojin’s hand.

“You’re still my number one priority,” Woojin assured and kissed Chan’s forehead. 

Minho made some puking noises which made everyone laugh.

“Just because you’re single like a pringle,” Woojin teased.

“Oh yeah, just pour more salt into my wound!” Minho whined and stuck his tongue out. 

Woojin then left the table. 

Chan turned back to his members. “Anyways, I thought about the sponsorship as well and, as far as I can see, our biggest enemies are the soccer team, the basketball team and the baseball team.”

“Dang, those ball sports!” Minho lifted his fist nearly in protest. 

“But that’s what is going to make us unique. I just suggest you guys to stick to our schedule. Train hard and try to stay away from the other teams as much as possible. I don’t want to force you to ignore them, but … I think it’s safer for us to stay in our lane. Just until the sponsorship is given to someone.” Chan looked at them with pleading eyes. “Sorry, Hyunjin, but you should avoid talking with Yeji about sports. Distractions are not good, remember that.” 

Hyunjin thought about that statement for the rest of the day. But for him it was clear that he could not walk from Seungmin away forever. Not only because of the bet. He wanted to spend time with the younger, although he was afraid that it might get awkward between them. 

He was extremely surprised when someone grabbed his arm from behind to drag him around the corner. 

“Shush.” Seungmin laid his index finger onto Hyunjin’s plush lips. He had a serious cold stare, which made Hyunjin shiver. 

Suddenly the younger grinned. “You should see your face.” He giggled and looked around the corner. Since school was already over it was very unlikely that another student would see them. 

“So finally we can talk to each other again.”

Hyunjin blushed slightly. “Yeah … sorry for ignoring you.”

“No, it’s okay.” Seungmin crossed his arms. “Actually, Sungjin’s demanded that we should stay away from other teams.” 

“Same goes for Chan.”

“Thought so.” Seungmin leaned forwards and played with Hyunjin’s tie before pulling it to drag the other’s face near. “Then I guess we have to pay a lot of attention.”

Hyunjin had a confused expression and took Seungmin’s hand away from his tie. “What do you mean?” 

“Paying attention, so that nobody finds out about us.” 

Us? Holy crap, so Seungmin took this incident which had happened at Hyunjin's house dead seriously.

“We should keep this thing between us as a secret until the sponsorship-matter is over,” Seungin suggested and wrapped his arms around Hyunjin’s neck. It was fascinating how bold he actually was. 

Right now Hyunjin was a puddle of nervousness, not able to return any of the gestures. “Thing?” he repeated. 

“I don’t want to label it as relationship yet since we should find this out after the sponsorship. You know, just to be safe,” Seungmin mumbled and looked into Hyunjin’s eyes, “But I want to keep seeing you. We simply have to watch out a bit.” 

Hyunjin did not know why he nodded automatically - his brain was not even functioning. Nevertheless, his hands clutched onto Seungmin’s shirt, his thumbs caressing the younger’s waist. 

“Good,” Seungmin answered and kissed Hyunjin onto his lips softly. It was more of a sweet, innocent peck. “So, don’t forget the lecture tomorrow, alright?”

“The lecture?”

“Yeah, the one with Kang Sunwon, dummy. You wanted to get me an autograph, remember?” Seungmin flicked his forehead. “That’s a date, got it?” 

Hyunjin gulped, but smiled lightly. 

Yeah. Definitely a date. 


	5. Step 5 - finding out about ideal types

“I swear to God, you’re so embarrassing!” Seungmin giggled as he entered the cafe. 

It was still weird to see him smiling so much, but Hyunjin had already learned that the younger was genuinely cheerful. He simply had to feel comfortable, and Hyunjin was flattered that he was the reason for his smile. 

The lecture had been quite interesting. However, as soon as Kang Sunwon wanted to go Hyunjin had practically tackled him, asking whether he could have an autograph for his _boyfriend_. Firstly, he had been very sheepish since he was not sure how the author would take it. But Sunwon was surprisingly open, so he had just laughed and given an autograph on the book which belonged to Seungmin.

Hyunjin had apologized to Seungmin several times for naming him as his boyfriend. 

Luckily Seungmin took it calmly. Even more, he seemed pretty happy about this blooper.

They sat down at the table and looked at the laminated menu card while talking with each other. 

“We should go to the movies together some time,” Seungmin suggested, reading the offers carefully. 

“You like the cinema?” 

The younger rolled his eyes. “Hyunjin, my life isn't only based on books and baseball.” He put the card down and propped his chin on the palm while supporting his elbow on the table. 

“Right, sorry.” 

A waitress came and took their orders. After that, Seungmin approached Hyunjin on the bench, putting his head on the other’s shoulder. “You know, I had been thinking that dates are boring and exhausting. Fooling around, being unnecessarily nervous and stuff.” 

Hyunjin smiled and grabbed Seungmin's hand to intertwine their fingers on the table. "And now?" 

"It's bearable," Seungmin answered and lifted his head slightly to kiss Hyunjin's jawline. 

Hyunjin could feel how the other smiled against his skin. It felt like sun rays touching his face, warm and comforting. He loved it when Seungmin was gentle with him. 

"By the way, thank you for getting me an autograph. That's the first signatured work I have." 

"Don't mention it, pup." Hyunjin patted Seungmin's head and closed his eyes until their orders arrived. He thanked the waitress and took a small cookie to feed Seungmin. 

Seungmin took a bite and then kissed Hyunjin softly on the lips before putting the second half of the cookie into the other's mouth. Since they were sitting in the corner nobody really noticed them. 

It was such a bliss to go on dates with Seungmin. Hyunjin had never thought that the younger would be so lovely and sweet. Usually he was quite witty and liked to mock him, but now he seemed to enjoy himself a lot. 

"You look very pretty today," Hyunjin commented as he played with the white ribbon on Seungmin's shirt. He wore a yellow hoodie with that ribbon, and the outfit was too adorable. 

"On other days I don't?"

"You're always very pretty," Hyunjin assured and played with some of Seungmin's hair strands. One of his hands found its way on Seungmin's thigh, squeezing it lightly. 

"What's that about?" Seungmin still let Hyunjin caress his leg, drinking his Latte.

"Nothing," Hyunjin answered, putting his mouth on Seungmin's neck, sucking the skin just lightly. 

"You're always so touchy," Seungmin sighed, but leaning his head to the side anyway, "We're in public." 

Hyunjin chuckled. "Sorry." It was crazy how comfortable he was. Although Seungmin was a lot calmer than Hyunjin, their chemistry seemed flawless. 

Everything went by naturally, no awkward moments and no pressure. Actually, Hyunjin had never even thought about what to say. If he had to tell something he would tell it. And if he had no topic he would stay silent. Both was okay. Just enjoying each other's presence was also a nice way of spending time together. Usually Hyunjin was very talkative, but with Seungmin it was easy to have breaks within conversations. 

The next moment the bell over the door rang. Both of them looked up and sucked in the air simultaneously as they saw the baseball team, which entered the cafe. 

"Shit," Seungmin hissed. He got up immediately and went over to the counter, trying to act like he wanted to order something to go. 

Hyunjin was amazed by how fast he had reacted. He himself was still shocked about the sudden appearance of the team. 

"Oh, Seungmin!" the leader greeted, "I thought that you didn't have time today."

"Yeah, I need to learn for my exams, but wanted to grab some coffee," Seungmin answered and ordered another Latte. Luckily, it was another waitress or else there would have been a lot of confusion. 

“Do you want to sit with us?” 

Seungmin knew that it was rude to refuse since Sungjin was a couple of years older than him and still bothered about his younger team member. Nevertheless, he could not risk anything since Hyunjin was still sitting in that corner. He needed to seperate them as fast as possible.

“I’d like to, I really do, but yeah … it’s a lot of school work. My dad doesn’t want me to get too distracted or else he forbids me to participate in the baseball team.”

Sungjin’s face changed at this statement. “Oh, I totally get that. Well, then go and rock those exams.” 

“I will, thank you, Hyung.” After that, Seungmin left quickly.

Hyunjin breathed aloud, his heart still pounding so hard against his chest. He grabbed his coffee and took a sip from it. 

It did not take long for Yeji to notice her brother. “Hyunjin! What are you doing here?” 

“Just … doing a little bit of reading,” he answered as he picked up the book which was left by Seungmin.

“With … two cups of coffee and a large plate of cookies?” 

Hyunjin looked at the table and shrugged. “I get thirsty and hungry real quick.” 

Yeji was still suspicious. “Hm, don’t you want to join us?” 

And what kind of person would Hyunjin be if he refused? 

* * *

“So, how was the sex?” 

Hyunjin nearly spit out the water. “What?” 

How was that possible? He barely even talked about Seungmin. Seungmin himself would never even dare to say a word (plus he did not talk to Minho at all in first place). Was Minho supernatural and could sense sexual interactions by looking at the person?

Minho laughed. “Sorry, I have this kind of experiment where I ask people that question. You get some interesting answers by doing that. You know, people get flustered so quickly.” He sat next to Hyunjin on the bench. "You should have seen Chan's face. Hilarious." He eyed Hyunjin intensely. “Wait, why are you so shy? Did you and Seungmin actually fuck?” His eyebrows were wiggling like they wanted to dance tango. 

“What? No.“ Hyunjin huffed and crossed his arms, embarrassed. 

“So how is the bet going then?“

“Good. We were on a date yesterday. But then the baseball team appeared,“ Hyunjin told. 

Minho made a face. “Ah yeah, all the captains don’t want their teams to mix up.”

“That’s so stupid. It’s just a sponsorship.” 

Actually Hyunjin had never found this sponsorship dumb until he had started to hang around with Seungmin more. The money had been so important to him, but having the younger’s attention caused him to think that there were so many valuable things in life. Things which were worthier than that money from a sponsorship. He felt so rich being with Seungmin and he could not get enough of him. At this point he even admitted that he was a little bit obsessed, always thinking about how to possibly drown in those deep eyes. 

“Whoawhoa, you’re talking about _the_ sponsorship. It’s a lot of money. To be honest, I couldn’t stand the mocking of another team for having earned the cash.”

Hyunjin could relate to this genuinely, however, Seungmin was still more important. He looked forward to showing him a new book he had discovered. Furthermore, he was sure that the other would like it as well. And since his friends were not interested in literature of the 19th century he needed to talk with Seungmin about it.

"Hey guys!" Felix waved and approached them. "I made a playlist for the competition with the neighbour school. You should check it out!" He held his phone in a position where Hyunjin and Minho were both able to have a look on the screen. 

"You listen to 2PM? That’s some taste," Minho commented.  
  
Felic chuckled. "Well, thank you." 

"You should show the playlist to Changbin. He's the music maniac amongst us." 

"Oh right, where is he?" Felix turned around until he spotted the older. "Ah there. Okay, see you!” he said before leaving.

Minho grinned, his eyes following the other. "Isn't he cute?" 

Hyunjin frowned. Objectively Felix was absolutely stunning. However, somehow he found Seungmin prettier. He had this soft and minimalistic image while Felix' visual was aesthetically shaped into a dollface: big and bright eyes, pretty lashes, a cute snub nose, heart-shaped and plushy lips, freckles shining brighter than the milky way.

"Are you interested?" Hyunjin asked. 

Minho laughed. "Actually, he’s not my type." 

Did Hyunjin have a type? Honestly, he had never even been interested in love until he had met Seungmin. For him there was not an ideal type necessary because … well, he had Seungmin. 

And Seungmin was just perfect. His weird habits or character traits made him even more perfect. Plus he looked like a puppy, and Hyunjin adored dogs. 

"I think he would be kinda Changbin's type." 

"I like to think of Changbin as asexual," Hyunjin admitted, making Minho laugh. 

"Changbin actually likes people with a cute face and a bubbly personality. Plus Felix has a great ass." 

Hyunjin slapped Minho's arm. "Hyung! Don't talk like this about our new member!" He sighed and lifted an eyebrow. "But how do you know about Changbin's preferences anyway?" Changbin was really not known for talking about his love life.

Minho snorted. "You should know me. If I want to I'll find out everything." 

That was true and also frightening.

“Well, then what’s your type?” Hyunjin asked, curious.

Minho chuckled and tapped his chin, actually pondering about the question. “I don’t know … I like imperfections, I think. Like being clumsy or …” He hesitated and laughed. It was rare to see that he was sheepish. “You know, things which are considered as 'aesthetical error'. A crooked teeth or something like this. Additionally, I’d like to have someone with sass and a lovely personality. Someone who isn't afraid of saying their opinion.” 

That sounded so much like Minho. He needed some excitement. He loved bickering and discussing, so he would need a person who was able to fight back, to tease him, to challenge him. In Hyunjin's point of view this was a beautiful thought. The thought of growing together.

Hyunjin grinned and nudged him playfully. He noticed that Minho was suddenly pretty shy, so he changed the topic: "So, did Chan said anything about training?"

"He did. He wanted to train today after school and tomorrow in the lunch break because he has no time in the afternoon."

"Why that?" 

"He wanted to help Woojin with his solo since Ms. Ahn drives the choir crazy." 

"But the concert is going to be in two months." 

Minho rolled his eyes. "Precisely." 

Well, Ms. Ahn was known for her picky tutoring. 

"Okay, let's go to the others," Minho suggested, "To plan the next training session."

* * *

Their next date was in the park. Hyunjin had mentioned the idea of having a picnic. For this occasion he had made sandwiches, baked some healthy muffins and cut vegetables and fruits. Because of the sponsorship both had started to restrict on sweets.

That was also great. To be with someone who knew exactly the pressure of competitive sports. Hyunjin had been worrying about a partner who would limit him in his ambitions. Although Seungmin was not as swimmer, he knew how important it was to put all sorts of dedication into your sports in order to reach your goals. 

"The sweetest strawberry for the sweetest person alive," Hyunjin cooed and held a piece of it on Seungmin's lips. 

The other ate it, focusing a deep glare on Hyunjin's face. "I'm not sweet." 

"For me you are." Hyunjin kissed Seungmin's cheek gently and put his head into the other's lap. He closed his eyes, feeling the wind on his face. 

“Why do you have a fear of swimming?”, he asked suddenly, but softly.

Seungmin chuckled, but it did not sound very cheerful. “I said that I hated swimming. I’ve never mentioned being afraid of it.” He brushed through Hyunjin’s hair. 

“It was just an assumption.” 

There was silence for a couple of minutes. Only their breathing was audible. Hyunjin knew that this was a sensitive topic. Nevertheless, there was no better imagination than the one of them both swimming together. Hyunjin would love to visit the beach with Seungmin. To build sand castles, to take a walk while waves would brush against their ankles, to find some pretty shells. How ethereal Seungmin would look in the water, his hair strands sticking on his forehead and the water glowing like petite pearls on his skin. 

“It’s just … I have a fear of drowning,” Seungmin confessed. 

Hyunjin opened his eyes. “Why that?” 

Seungmin hesitated. “Bad memories,” he mumbled. 

Hyunjin watched his face, waiting for an explicit answer. “Don’t you trust me?” 

“I do trust you. A lot.” Seungmin leaned forward and put his forehead against Hyunjin’s. “I’ll tell you another time. Promise.” 

Hyunjin could accept that. If Seungmin needed the time, he would get it. 

“By the way, I have another book that I wanted to recommend.”

“Oh, really?” 

So they started a new discussion about an interesting work which Hyunjin had found a few days ago. It was about the Second World War. A novel based on a real story, representing the view of a Jew girl who experiences the tremendous and terrible changes in her daily life. 

“War’s indeed cruel,” Seungmin whispered, “Most people try to overshadow past incidents.” 

“Although it’s so important to keep them in mind. So we can learn from them” Hyunjin picked a flower from the grass and put it into Seungmin’s hand. 

“Beautiful,” Seungmin commented, caressing the petals with his fingertips.

Hyunjin was still looking at the younger’s face. “Absolutely.”

After that, they packed their stuff and went to the bus station, holding hands in silence. 

“Oh, there’s something wet on my face.” Seungmin touched his own cheek.

In the next moment the clouds practically broke, pouring their tears onto them. A thunder was heard and a lightning blazed far away from them. 

They hurried to reach the bus stop quicker. 

“Crap, we’ve missed the bus,” Seungmin stated, looking at the plan.

Hyunjin took off his jacket and wrapped it around Seungmin’s shoulders. “You’re freezing.” It was just lightly noticeable, but he was sure that the other blushed. Genuinely lovely to watch. His heart jumped in his chest again, and he wondered how someone could just make him feel this way. He wanted to indulge Seungmin into many warm hugs, kissing all over his face. 

Is that what you call being in love? 

He did not exactly know. 

Seungmin looked into Hyunjin’s face. “Do you trust me?” 

“What?”

“You asked me earlier whether I trusted you. But what about you?” 

Hyunjin laughed shyly. Instead of answering he simply pulled the other into a hug, listening to the rain drops hitting the roof of the bus station above them. 

* * *

“That was way too intense.” Changbin sighed and ruffled through his wet hair. “I wish that Chan would have at least a bit mercy with us.” 

“He’s eager to win the sponsorship,” Minho simply replied, although he looked exhausted as well. It was no help that most of them would have classes in a few minutes. 

“Still, afternoon classes suck.” 

“I’m free,” Felix rejoiced and stuck out his tongue.

“Lucky you,” Changbin sighed. 

They entered the school building. Most students were still in the auditorium, enjoying the last minutes of their break. 

The appearance of the swimming club caused some attention since this was not a common time for them to come back from training. 

Some girls were murmuring and giggling, pointing at Hyunjin.

“Are they making fun of me?”, he wondered and frowned.

Minho snorted. “No, probably drooling over how good you look.” 

Hyunjin’s hair was still wet and his tie hung around his neck loosely because he had been too lazy to dress himself properly. The coat of his school uniform lingered over his sports bag. Additionally, he had rolled up his sleeves since his skin felt sticky with his clothes after having showered. 

“I totally don’t get it,” Hyunjin answered. 

“Oh, there are my friends! Sorry, I need to go,” Felix said and ran across the auditorium. Jisung, Jeongin and Seungmin were standing there, talking before they noticed that their friend had joined them. 

Seungmin’s gaze brushed Hyunjin’s, just briefly, but it felt like needles piercing through the older’s body. He still did not understand why the other had such an effect on him. Sometimes he was so soft and in the next second nearly threatening. 

“Hyunjin!” someone called. It was the girl from the library. 

Hyunjin was pretty surprised that she had the guts to talk to him again after the obvious rejection. 

Her friends were standing behind her, giggling and probably waiting for what was about to happen.

“I hope that your maths exam was good! How was training?”

Hyunjin did not want to talk about that because he knew that she could not be honestly interested in swimming. Or else she would join the team. It was nonsense to talk with her about his sports. However, he did not want to be cold, so he simply shrugged and forced a smile onto his face. 

“Pretty good, I guess.” 

Out of a sudden he felt goosebumps all over his body. He glanced shortly toward the side, noticing that Seungmin was practically staring at him. 

“Great! I look forward to seeing you at the competition with the neighbour school!” 

“Oh, yeah … yeah …”

Minho had to suppress a laughing attack because it was obvious that Hyunjin was not very pleased by this conversation.

“Whatever, I have to go,” Hyunjin excused himself and went upstairs to go to his classroom. Before visiting his class he entered the bathroom, only to wash his face since it felt like he had too much chlorine in his eyes. And maybe he needed a refreshment from that tensed and awkward conversation. 

He heard the bathroom door being opened. Shortly after, he could see Seungmin through the mirror. “Oh, hey,” he greeted, surprised, before turning around.

Seungmin’s dark eyes x-rayed him, his lips being pressed together.

“Something wrong?” 

Seungmin bristled with anger and stepped toward Hyunjin, grabbed his shoulders and pushed him against the sink. 

The other gasped in shock and looked at Seungmin’s furious face. “What is it?”, he asked, worried, but also a little bit overwhelmed. 

“You’re looking like this, still asking me this stupid question?” Seungmin huffed. “Idiot.” 

“You know, if you hadn’t such a puppy face I’d get pretty frightened,” Hyunjin mumbled.

Seungmin gouged his index finger into Hyunjin’s chest. “You _should_ be frightened!” 

“Why are you so mad at me?” Hyunjin pushed Seungmin’s hand away. 

“I saw you flirting with that idiotic girl!” 

Immediately, Hyunjin fell silent. Then, he smiled lightly. This was indeed interesting. “You’re jealous”, he claimed.

“I’m not jealous. I’m angry at you for being so … so …” 

“What?” Now it was too hard to keep his serious facade. This situation was surprisingly entertaining “You can just admit it. It’s okay to be jea-” 

Hyunjin stopped talking when Seungmin pressed his mouth onto his, clutching his hands into the other’s shirt. He kissed him desperately, sucking at his bottom lip and squeezing their bodies tightly together. He sighed audibly and went on to wander with his lips over Hyunjin’s neck. In the meantime one of his hands reached between them in order to grab Hyunjin’s crotch. 

Hyunjin reacted immediately by groaning. At least he had enough sanity to break away from the kiss. “What’s gotten into you?”, he asked, clearly irritated.

Seungmin looked into his eyes. “You have literally no idea how hot you are," he whispered. Then he pulled him into a kiss again, tugging Hyunjin’s wet hair, enjoying the feeling of it between his fingers. “That’s so unfair of you,” he muttered hotly against his lips, “You cannot look like this and expect me not to jump on you.” He grabbed Hyunjin’s wrist and pulled him into a cubicle. 

Hyunjin was so overwhelmed that he could not return anything, so he obeyed silently and followed Seungmin. 

Seungmin pushed him down, so that the older sat on the toilet seat. After that, he locked the door. 

“Seungmin, I have classes in a few minutes.”

“Yeah, I don’t care.” 

“What about you?” 

Seungmin chuckled. “The first two afternoon lessons are cancelled.” Of course. He would never put his status amongst the teachers at risk. “So I have plenty of time.”

“For what?” 

Seungmin knelt down and unbuckled Hyunjin’s belt. “For sucking you off.” 

And again he had the power to make Hyunjin choke on his own spit. "Seungmin, that's really not-" 

Seungmin pulled the zipper and tried to reach beneath his underwear. "What?" He massaged Hyunjin's forming bulge. 

Although the situation was overtaxing, Hyunjin could not deny that it stirred arousal inside of him. The sight of Seungmin never failed to amaze him, and seeing him kneeling down in front of him was surely an extraordinary experience. 

Had Seungmin ever sucked somebody off before? He seemed pretty secure in his motions, it was kind of worrying. Hyunjin did not know how to feel about those sudden actions so he was sitting there, practically like a starfish, observing how Seungmin grabbed his waistband with both hands. 

He put his mouth onto Hyunjin’s hard-on, leaving some wet spots on his underwear. This action aroused the older, nevertheless, he noticed how clumsy Seungmin actually was, trying to reach more places, but failing because there were too many layers of clothes in his way. 

“Have you ever done this?” Hyunin finally questioned.

Seungmin looked up, staring at him before shaking his head. 

“Oh, uhm …” 

“Come on, help me,” Seungmin interrupted him.

Therefore, Hyunjin lifted his hips a bit so his pants could be pulled down. 

Seungmin was too impatient, so he rolled them only to his knees before kissing the erection again, licking over the fabric of his underwear. 

Although there was still a barrier between Seungmin’s tongue and his dick, Hyunjin could clearly feel the prickling between his legs, only caused by Seungmin indulging his crotch with his lips. He was so eager and although he was still not sure how to do it, he was brave enough to continue, listening to the older’s reactions to find out what would feel good. 

Finally, Seungmin reached for his underwear to pull it down slowly.

Hyunjin should not be panicking. After all, Seungmin had seen his dick already. Still, his heart was about to burst when the cold air hit his erection, causing a soft whine from his mouth. 

Seungmin licked over his hand before wrapping it around his leaking cock. He stroked him in a leisurely pace, focused on his action and ignored Hyunjin, who could not suppress the urge to watch the other intensely. 

Firstly, Seungmin seemed reluctant, but then he leaned forward and closed his mouth around the tip of Hyunjin’s dick.

Exactly in this moment Hyunjin was convinced that his soul was about to leave body. The effect increased as he felt Seungmin’s tongue swirling around carefully, still testing the boundaries. 

Seungmin was slow and alluring, trying to deal with this complete new situation. He was even shaking a bit, but tried to overshadow it by moving his head lightly. Since he was not confident enough to take more of Hyunjin, he backed off a bit and decided to simply run his tongue along the length. It felt more like teasing, but Hyunjin enjoyed the sight of Seungmin opening his mouth again and again, trying to get his teeth out of the way. He was so tender and careful, totally different from his rough and tough image which he proceeded usually in public. 

Seungmin’s eyelids were half closed as the younger moved his hand again, gaining a breathy moan from Hyunjin. 

“Ah, feels good,” Hyunjin assured, hoping that it would encourage Seungmin.

It worked since Seungmin took the tip into his mouth again, sucking it before gliding down onto Hyunjin’s dick. He moved his head in small motions, unsure whether it felt enjoyable.

Hyunjin put one hand on Seungmin’s shoulder and the other into his hair. Softly he ruffled through the strands and started moaning lightly, hoping nobody would catch them. 

It was unreal. He had never imagined to receive a blowjob in the school’s bathroom, and it should be embarrassing, but he was quickly carried away by Seungmin’s mouth which was putting slight pressure on his cock, increasing the lust even more.

Still, Hyunjin could tell that Seungmin did not test out everything and stuck to his small movements. Sometimes he cocked his head in a weird way or was insecure about where he wanted to put his free hand. But the attemption itself was enough to make Hyunjin crazy. Additionally, he loved touching Seungmin’s hair, massaging his shoulder and looking at his soft face. 

Maybe seeing Seungmin full of lust, but still insecure in his actions was the factor which turned Hyunjin's brain into mush. Both of them were inexperienced, yet the younger trusted him enough to show him this exposing side of him. 

After a few minutes Seungmin looked up and his eyes were surprisingly bright, transparent, perhaps even vulnerable to a certain extent. 

What made Hyunjin’s arousal unbearable was the fact that Seungmin was getting hard as well. It did not take long to notice the tent in his pants. But he was not even thinking about touching himself. He was too occupied by making Hyunjin happy. 

This gesture was so endearing, that Hyunjin pulled him closer, putting his cock a little deeper into Seungmin’s mouth.

First it was a little shock, but the younger got used to it and tried to get his tongue around his erection, covering as much as possible. He hollowed his cheeks, using more spit to make the glide eventually easier.

“Shit, get up,” Hyunjin demanded suddenly.

Seungmin backed off and wiped over his mouth. “Why?”

“Just get up.” Now his tone was firmer.

Seungmin was a little sceptic and stood up, before gasping as Hyunjin unbuckled his belt to push his pants down. He did not hesitate to remove Seungmin’s jacket before opening the buttons of his shirt impatiently.

“Hyunjin, what-” 

Hyunjin pulled Seungin into his lap, attaching his lips onto the other’s neck. “Thought you wanted some fun as well,” he whispered against the skin. 

“I was having fun.” 

Hyunjin chuckled and reached between Seungmin’s soft thighs. “I can feel that.” Sadly he could not see Seungmin’s face, but he was sure that the other blushed. He moaned directly into the younger’s ear and touched Seungmin’s nipples. He put on each bud a thumb before circling his finger. 

Seungmin moaned softly and grabbed Hyunjin’s shoulders. He could feel Hyunjin’s erection between his thighs and it caused his body to tremble. Desperately he clutched into Hyunjin’s shirt, moving his hips and feeling so much of Hyunjin, yet not enough. 

Seungmin's shirt glided down until it stuck in the crook of his arms, exposing his pretty shoulders. The air caused goosebumps all over his back. 

Now Hyunjin was confident enough to slip his hands to Seungmin’s back, sliding downward until he reached his butt. He cupped the cheeks with both hands and massaged them slowly, but with pressure.

Seungmin arched his back and supported his chin onto Hyunjin’s shoulders, whining quietly. 

Hyunjin was overwhelmed how soft Seungmin felt in general. He started sucking on his collarbone, wanting to leave the skin red. 

“No marks, stupid!” 

Too late. A wonderful, red hickey bloomed on his skin and Hyunjin marked him again, this time on his chest. The temptation was too big, so he closed his mouth around one nipple and circled his tongue around it, teasing the younger.

Seungmin threw his head back and shifted in Hyunjin’s lap, trying to jerk the older off. 

Indeed Hyunjin came and he wanted Seungmin to reach his high was well. However, he barely touched him before Seungmin's orgasm hit, the younger biting into his own hand to muffle his lewd moan. 

“So sensitive,” Hyunjin commented, nearly marveling at the sight of the wrecked boy in his lap. 

“Will you ever shut up?” Seungmin answered breathlessly and fell against Hyunjin. 

Both of them had come mostly over Seungmin, so Hyunjin tried him to help cleaning up. After that, they left the cubicle and headed toward the sink to check their appearances in the mirror.

Seungmin looked totally fucked out, but Hyunjin's appearance was actually quite decent. After all, different from Seungmin his hair had not gotten pulled and he had also no hickeys. 

He grinned at the image of Seungmin who was buttoning up his shirt. “You should hide that at training.”

“No shit.” Seungmin grumbled. 

Hyunjin kissed his forehead and smiled. His chest felt so warm and comforted. If he was not already late for classes he would snuggle Seungmin until they both had recovered from this intense experience.

“So, do you want to come over today?”

“That’s quite spontaneous.” 

“Yeah, but you can’t resist me.”

Seungmin rolled his eyes. Although he did not answer, both of them knew that Hyunjin was damn right. 


	6. Step 6 - sharing secrets

The mood at competitions was always great. Hyunjin loved meeting new swimmers. Actually, it was not really about beating them, it was more an opportunity to exchange experiences. It was crazy how many things went different on other schools, although some might be only around the corner. 

Felix’ playlist was blasting its songs through the hall. It was big enough to have space for an audience as well (at this point their school was pretty much spoiled). Most of the visitors were students from his or Changbin’s year, but there were older ones as well. Usually they were more busy with studying, that was why rather people around his age could be seen here. Additionally, even some students from their neighbour school were present as well.

“Okay, let’s do the relay then!” Chan announced and clapped his hands, “Who of you are the swimmers for the relay?” 

Four boys stepped forward. As far as Hyunjin could remember their names were Juyeon, Younghoon, Sunwoo and Youngjae, who preferred to be called Eric. 

“What’s the win?” Sunwoo asked jokingly. 

“Free drinks from our kiosk,” Changbin answered. 

There was appreciative muttering. “What a service.” 

Both teams were forming a line per start block. 

Changbin and Sunwoo already sat in the water, clinging onto the pole of and waiting for the signal. The penetrative sound of a horn was heard, whereas both swimmers pushed themselves away from the brink of the pool to dive into the water.

The crowd was already cheering, yelling the name of the school which they were rooting for. It was nearly impossible to hear the music though the shouting, but it lit the atmosphere. 

Hyunjin loved the adrenaline of competitions. His heart was pounding in his chest out of joy and excitement. He fixed his swimming cap and put on his goggles, stepping onto the start block since he was the next. 

Changbin approached the brink and clapped his hand against it. 

The transition was smooth and Hyunjin jumped into the water gracefully, forming a perfect line of his body to break the surface, which welcomed him. He savored the glorious moment of the comforting feeling before starting to glide upwards. Meanwhile he stuck his legs and feet together, moving like a dolphin and concentrating on giving a powerful start. Then he reached the surface and began to coordinate his arms and legs, finding his way into the known movements of breaststroke. 

He was feeling the presence of Youngjae, but he was not insecure about it. Instead he focused on his own execution, enjoying how the waves hit his body. Like that he felt so alive and strong, believing that he could just fly through the rooftop and discover freedom. The loss of gravity always was a mesmerizing sensation. 

He reached the end of the swimming lane, therefore, Chan took over. 

After that Chaeryeong participated with freestyle. 

“Wow, you actually have girls on your team,” Juyeon said, surprised. 

“She’s the best in freestyle,” Chan told and then started cheering on his team member. 

Chaeryeong was unbeatable in freestyle, but the gap was still not very big. In the end the win of Chan’s team had been really tight. 

Everyone gave each other highfives or fistbumps. 

“That was great! Your team’s good,” Juyeon said.

“Yours too.” Chan winked. “You guys will get free drinks anyway for that exciting competition.” 

Hyunjin peeled off his swimming cap after having put his goggles away. He shook his wet hair and brushed through it, holding it out of his forehead.

“Hyunjin, you’re doing great!” 

“Go, Hyunjin!” 

“You got this!” 

Hyunjin was embarrassed because of the cheering sounds, especially because Minho sent him mocking gazes. He looked away and started observing the grandstand until he stopped the motion. 

He put his swimming cap aside and approached Seungmin, who was standing on the stairs between two sections of the grandstand. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked, but with a bright smile on his face.

“Oh, I could never miss the great Hwang Hyunjin at the neighbour school competition,” Seungmin returned, crossing his arms and lifting his eyebrow. There was a small smirk on his face. 

Hyunjin giggled. “And? How do you like it?” He was actually curious about what Seungmin thought about the competition since the younger was not very fond of swimming. However, this event was funny and colourful, everyone here loved it. Maybe the spark of joy hit him as well.

Seungmin’s eyes wandered down on Hyunjin’s wet body before he looked up again. “I like it very much.” 

Hyunjin blinked a few times, noticing that his face was probably quite red. “That’s … nice.” He laughed, a little bit shyly. “Hey, are you free tomorrow?” 

“I am. What have you been thinking about?”

Hyunjin hesitated. “Well, I'd like to visit you. I’ve never been at yours.” 

The suggestion surprised Seungmin. “Oh, hm. Yeah.” He seemed a little bit torn by the idea. Nevertheless, he did not refuse right away so Hyunjin thought that there might be a chance to actually visit him.

It was nice that they could meet outside or at the Hwang house. Still, Hyunjin was interested in seeing Seungmin’s place. He did not want to be too pushy, but he also did not want to hide his curiosity. 

Seungmin tapped his chin. “My father’s pretty busy with working, but it should be fine.” 

The answer took Hyunjin off guard briefly since he had never expected a confirmation. But of course he was happy about it. “Sure! Just text me.” 

“I will.” 

In the next moment Chan called Hyunjin. 

“Oh, I have to go. So … uhm see you.” 

Seungmin just gave a small nod and looked after Hyunjin, who joined his team again. 

“Why were you talking to Seungmin?” Chan asked. He did not sound offended or accusing. He seemed more flustered.

Hyunjin brushed off the topic. “Nah, it was just smalltalk. I was surprised that he's even here.”

Chan still seemed a little bit suspicious, but he did not say anything. Therefore, they prepared the next round where everyone would have to swap their swimming styles.

In the meantime Minho snuck up on him. “Wow, fridge boy’s actually here to see you. How romantic.”

This comment caused Hyunjin to simply roll his eyes. “Don’t call him like that.”

“Yeah, you’re right. When he looks at you he is warmer than hot chocolate.” 

Hyunjin blushed at those words and shoved his Hyung slightly back.

As a response Minho nudged him. “No, seriously, you’re on the best way to win this bet. I mean you have two and a half weeks left.” 

“Right, the bet,” Hyunjin murmured. 

* * *

Hyunjin did not know what exactly he had been expecting. Sometimes Seungmin was still a mystery to him. No matter how much Hyunjin tried to learn about him there was more. It was like shoveling a hole into an endless ground: You keep digging it, but the amount of mud does not decrease. 

It was more than confusing that Seungmin had asked him to come down to the river. It was bright enough for ships to conquer it. Actually, Hyunjin liked it down here; it was peaceful. But he could hardly imagine that Seungmin would live near the water since he hated it.

He looked around and observed some people who were taking a walk, enjoying the sun rays on their skin. Then he took a look on his wristwatch.

"You're too early," he heard suddenly. Thus he turned around and saw Seungmin standing there, the younger wearing shorts and a baggy shirt. 

"Couldn't wait to see you," Hyunjin replied and went over to him. He leaned forward and kissed Seungmin's forehead. 

"You're so greedy." Seungmin grabbed Hyunjin's hand and pulled him into a hug. “I missed you.”

“Why? We see each other at school nearly every day.” Hyunjin patted his head and looped his arm around the younger’s narrow waist. 

“Yeah, that’s not the same. You’re so busy.”

“As the baseball team’s ace you’re busy as well.” 

Seungmin backed off and shrugged. "Well, maybe because my team's going to destroy yours." A mischievous smile crept up on his face.

Hyunjin nudged him. "We'll see." Then he looked around. "So, you live nearby the water? That’s very surprising." 

Those words elicited a light laugh from the younger. "I don’t live _nearby_ the water.” He pulled Hyunjin with him.

Now the older was confused. Why were they here at the river then? He gave Seungmin some flustered gazes, but he was ignored.

Seungmin pulled him down the path until they reached the small haven. He stayed silent until they stood in front of a big boat. “I don’t live nearby the water. In fact I live _on_ the water.” Slowly he turned around to Hyunjin, who had probably the stupidest expression on his face. 

Seungmin laughed and pulled at his wrist. “Come on, I’ll show you.” He stepped on the landing stage and entered the boat. It was crazy because it was obvious that it was a boat, still it seemed like there was simply a house put on a platform. Additionally, it was surprisingly spacious. 

Seungmin opened the door with his key and led Hyunjin into the boat. “That’s the living room. Over there's the kitchen. Just leave your shoes next to the door.” 

The kitchen was directly connected to the living room. He made his way between the couch and the table before standing in front of the counter. “Are you thirsty?” Slowly he walked to the fridge, looking over his shoulder.

Hyunjin was busy with checking out the living room. There was a whole side only with windows and the view was breathtaking. Especially with the cozy atmosphere of the room he could not stop looking at the waves brushing softly against other boats. He looked around to inspect the plushy orange pillows on the couch, the beautiful paintings on the wall, the shelf with all those books and the soft carpet under his feet. The room was bright and joyful, yet full of peace. The warmth was wrapping around his body, hugging him tightly. 

Seungmin filled water into two glasses since he just assumed that Hyunjin would like something to drink. “Here.”

Hyunjin snapped out of his thoughts and took the water. “Thanks.” He drank two sips before putting the glass onto the table. “Seungmin … it’s beautiful.”

“You should see my room.” Seungmin nodded in the corresponding direction. 

Therefore, Hyunjin followed him through a narrow and short corridor. There were three doors: one left and right and one at the end. Exactly this door was pushed open, revealing another open and bright room. It was quite small, but lovely decorated by the furniture out of wood and the two shelves filled by books. The bed was surprisingly big and took a significant part of the room. There was a desk across from it at the wall, and a case board with small and minimalistic decorations hung over there. The room was very clean with some ornamentations, but they were quite subtle. 

“Don’t you have a closet?” 

“I have a dresser. I don’t own that many clothes anyway,” Seungmin explained. 

Hyunjin looked around curious. 

“The bathroom is in the corridor on the left side and on the right side is just a small store for cleaning agents, rags and all this stuff.” Seungmin sat on his bed. 

“There aren’t any more rooms, are they?” Hyunjin looked at the paintings at Seungmin’s wall.

“Not on this floor. If you follow the corridor back you’ll see stairs. My father’s room is under the deck of the ship.” 

Hyunjin stopped. “Wait, why do you refer to your parents’ room like that? Where’s your mother?” 

Seungmin pressed his lips in a line and avoided Hyunjin’s gaze. 

The older felt his heart sinking down his chest. He had probably hit a sensitive spot. “Oh, my bad. Are … are they divorced?” 

Seungmin shook his head and stood up before closing the door. He stepped to the panorama window, which made his room so bright, and looked at the water. Since it was afternoon the reflection of the sun was warm and beautiful on the surface. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he said: “You know that I have a fear of drowning.” 

Hyunjin approached him hesitantly.

Both of them were standing next to each other now. 

“Yeah, that’s why I’m confused that you and your father decided to live on a boat."

Seungmin smiled. “That’s really paradox, isn’t it?” He chuckled and lowered his head slightly. “My fear of drowning doesn’t come from nothing.” Again, there was silence.

Hyunjin gave him all the time he wanted. His own heart was about to jump out of his chest. There was Seungmin who trusted him enough to share something so intimate. Hyunjin did not understand the situation fully, but he wanted to. Secrets were interesting, nevertheless, he was eager to learn more about Seungmin. 

“It’s because of my mother,” Seungmin continued and chewed on his bottom lip. His hands were clutching onto his shorts. “She loves swimming. Actually, she’s a great diver.” 

“That sounds very cool.” 

“She’s incredible. She can hold her breath for about three minutes!” Seungmin smiled lightly. Then his smile faded slowly. “However, her passion is the reason why she’s not with us.”

“What do you mean?” Hyunjin asked carefully. 

Seungmin closed his eyes. “One day she was diving. Actually in this river. You know, there are specific areas, for swimmers only.”

Hyunjin nodded. Of course he knew about those places. He had gone to some of them with his friends. 

“And … there were some idiots who wanted to get rid of their trash. They were on a boat and threw those containers into the water. One of those containers hit my mother straight on the head while she was diving.” He opened his eyes again.

Hyunjin’s heart was about to stop. His neck felt cold and he sensed a tingle in his feet. 

“And of course she became unconscious. I was sitting on the shore and my dad wanted to do some photos of the flowers nearby.” Seungmin breathed aloud. “And when she didn’t come up again, I began shouting. My father tried to rescue her, but it was too late.” 

Hyunjin was completely silent. Although the room was warm, he had goosebumps. His hands were trembling and his throat was dry. 

“My father feels guilty, although it’s been years. That’s why he decided to move to a boat. To stay connected with the water and my mother.” There was a slight smile on his face. “Sounds cheesy, right?” 

Hyunjin was lost for words. He had been so curious about Seungmin’s past and whether there was a certain reason for his fear. Now the other was opening up to him and Hyunjin realized that this was just such a mess. Technically he was here for a bet, but actually he wanted to stay with Seungmin, to comfort Seungmin, to …

… love him? This would be probably too much.

Notwithstanding, there was no chance to deny his strong feelings. He wanted to have every piece of the other, knowing as much as possible about him, no matter how trivial the details might seem. 

Hyunjin cleared his throat. “So that’s why you …”

“Yeah, I hate the water because it killed my mother.” 

To hear it directly was like a stab in the back. The words were so cruel and honest that it punched the air out of Hyunjin’s body. 

“And that’s exactly why I can’t swim. I don’t want to be helpless like her.” Seungmin sighed. “But my dad keeps insisting on me learning it as a tribute to her.” He nodded over to his desk, where a camera was placed. “I thought it would be enough to share photography as a hobby with him. He still wants to swim with me.” 

Finally Hyunjin was able to speak again. “Are you two close?”

“I don’t know. He has to work a lot since he’s a doctor. Most of the time I’m alone on this boat. And I hate it.” Seungin turned his head toward Hyunjin. “Let me guess: You absolutely love it here.” He smiled in a bittersweet way.

Hyunjin nodded. “It’s a beautiful view.” 

“Hm, it is. It makes it more less horrible here.” Seungmin looked at the water again. “I’m used to it now.”

Hyunjin put his hand on Seungmin’s shoulder.

The younger reacted immediately by wrapping his arms around the other’s torso and leaning against his chest. 

“Don’t you feel exposed with this kind of window?” 

“That’s why curtains exist.” Seungmin chuckled and went over to the corner of the room to pull on the orange fabric. As soon as it covered the window, the room seemed somehow densed. There was still light coming through the curtains, keeping the atmosphere warm. 

“Seungmin,” Hyunjin said suddenly, “Thank you for sharing this with me. It must be hard.” 

“No, actually I’m doing fine. My father does his best to keep us going. Honestly, I hope that someday he can overcome his pain and forgive himself. I would even accept a new woman, but he loves my mother too much.” Seungmin smiled and wrapped his arms around Hyunjin’s neck. “And I have you. You make everything … at least more bearable. With your behaviour, with your honesty, with your knowledge about books." He chuckled.

The kiss they shared was tender and soft. 

Hyunjin blinked a few times. While looking at the other’s face he admired those deep eyes, his nose, his narrow lips, which he wanted to kiss every second. “Shit,” he whispered, “I think I’m in love.” 

Seungmin was confused at this sudden statement, but then he laughed. “Wow, you’re so slow.”

Hyunjin laughed as well and swaid Seungmin a little bit in his arms. They stumbled back until Seungmin’s legs hit the bed, which caused him to drop on the mattress. He did not let go off Hyunjin so the other landed on him. However, he tried to catch himself to prevent his weight from hurting Seungmin.

Seungmin giggled and pressed his mouth eagerly on Hyunjin’s, wrapping his legs around the older’s waist. His hands were roaming over his body, touching the muscles of Hyunjin’s back. He could even get a glimpse of his bare skin since the shirt had slipped up. It was mesmerizing to experience him that passionate. Soon his hands were pressed against the chest, squeezing it a bit while his tongue tried to path its way into Hyunjin’s mouth. 

Firstly, Hyunjin was a bit overwhelmed, but then he adapted to the rhythm, kissing Seungmin back and pushing him into the mattress. His hands trailed along Seungmin’s legs until they hooked themselves under his knees to bring them up. 

“I really missed you,” Seungmim hummed.

“Is that so? Wow, and you call me greedy.” Hyunjin giggled and kissed all over Seungmin’s face, lifting up his shirt to touch his flat stomach and tender chest. 

“Shut up.” 

Again, Hyunjin laughed and kissed Seungmin’s neck. “What did the others say to that hickey?” 

“I used makeup.”

“And the sweat?” 

“It was waterproof.” 

While Hyunjin was caressing the skin he looked at Seungmin’s face. “Very smart of you.” 

“That’s just common sense.” Seungmin lifted himself a little bit up to meet his lips with Hyunjin’s lips. In the next moment he moaned quietly since Hyunjin had put his hand onto his crotch, massaging the forming bulge. “Hey, give me more time.”

“You’ll get all the time you want, pup,” Hyunjin replied and kissed his cheek. Then he captured his sweet mouth again, moving his lips to seduce him into a passionate exchange of kisses; kisses which were longing but also soft. 

Hyunjin smiled and licked into the small gap to enter Seungmin’s warm mouth. He could feel the known sensation of his tongue brushing against the other’s teeth before he decided to play a little more. To do so he pushed his tongue further, teasing Seungmin to return the gesture. 

It worked, and Seungmin grabbed Hyunjin’s nape, pulling him closer. In the meantime he moved his hips slightly as a sign that Hyunjin could continue. 

Therefore, the other slid his hand under the waistband of his shorts before tugging at the underwear. 

“Just take them off,” Seungmin whispered.

“You’re so bossy.” 

Seungmin grinned at this comment. “Does it hurt that I’m always in charge?” 

At this Hyunjin rolled his eyes jokingly. He pulled the shorts plus underwear down. The action had been so sudden that Seungmin fell on his back, hissing at the surprising movement. 

“You’re not always in charge, pup,” Hyunjin returned and threw his clothes on the floor. 

Seungmin reached for the hem of his own shirt to pull it up. He wiggled on the mattress until he got rid of the clothing. It landed to the rest on the floor. 

Hyunjin took his time to admire the bare beauty in front of him. He wanted to kiss every inch so he could remember every single detail about Kim Seungmin. In his point of view the younger was breathtaking, flawless and soft. There was no way he could ever get over this sight; it caused him to sit frozen. 

His gaze was longing enough for Seungmin to even get a little bit shy. This was why he covered his torso by crossing his arms, hands flat on his chest. Furthermore, he squeezed his legs together, shifting slightly to the side. His face had a pretty shade of pink and he began chewing on his bottom lip. 

“Why are you hiding? You’re so beautiful,” Hyunjin murmured and put his hands onto Seungmin’s knees before pushing them apart. 

“Because you were staring.”

“I couldn’t help it.” Hyunjin kissed the inside of his leg and kept moving.

Seungmin held back a whine and extended his arms to stop Hyunjin. “You still have your clothes on.” 

Hyunjin stopped. “Right, sorry.” He straightened his back and put his muscles to work by pulling his shirt over his head. For a moment his ribcage was visible and his arm muscles built up. Hyunjin was more on the leaner side (so he was not that buff like Changbin or Chan), but he was still pretty muscular. The art of swimming had been molding him into an aesthetic statue with stunning proportions. 

After getting rid of his shirt he unbuckled his belt and tossed his pants onto the floor as well. He also took off his underwear. Finally he was able to lean over Seungmin, who smiled softly at him. 

“Better?”

“Better.” He touched Hyunjin’s face, his fingertips brushing softly over the skin. “Hyunjin …” The name sounded still alluring from his mouth. His voice sounded sweet and warm. Sometimes it seemed like he was singing. 

“Yeah? What is it?” 

Seungmin closed his eyes and pecked his lips. His hands moved over his collarbones to his shoulder blades. “Nothing. Just wanted to say your name.”

The answer made Hyunjin giggle. Then he noticed the goosebumps on Seungmin’s arms. 

“You’re cold.” He sat up and grabbed the blanket before putting it over both of them. 

“And you’re really warm,” Seungmin commented and hugged Hyunjin again, his skin feeling a little bit chill, “You’re always so warm. I really like it.” 

The choice of words was so simple, but it was enough to cause Hyunjin’s heart to tremble. The older wrapped his arms around Seungmin and hid his face in the crook of his neck. He breathed against it, enjoying the feeling of being together and connected like this. Without fear, without doubt, without covering anything. It felt like a genuine moment. 

Seungmin moaned into Hyunjin’s ear as his hips twitched again. 

Hyunjin rubbed his cheek against Seungmin’s collarbone before gliding down, touching the skin with his lips, spreading light kisses all over the body. He nearly disappeared under the blanket while Seungmin was looking at the ceiling. However, his eyes fell shut as he felt Hyunjin’s mouth under his belly button. 

Hyunjin wandered down until he reached his crotch. Without saying anything the older grabbed a pillow to put it under Seungmin’s lower area. 

The position was more exposing so it was a reflex for Seungmin to put his knees together again. 

Hyunjin stopped him and held his legs. He was laying on his stomach as he moved further until he put his mouth on Seungmin’s entrance. 

The other tensed, but did not say anything. 

So Hyunjin continued by brushing with his tongue against the rim before sucking at it softly. Now he earned some gasps and smiled at this reaction like he won the lottery. It was a little bit weird, but also thrilling. He was not sure whether the other would really like it. 

Nevertheless, he took another step and pressed his tongue against Seungmin’s entrance.

Seungmin reacted with low moans and winced at the complete new sensation. He reached out for Hyunjin’s hair and pulled some strands to slow him down. 

Hyunjin was too lost so he grabbed Seungmin’s thigh firmly and pushed them further apart to have better access. 

His tongue brushed against his hole several times before he was able to push the tip inside of him. It was hot and tight; he felt like suffocating but in a good way. This only stirred the fire inside of him which caused him to use more force until he was able to enter a little bit more.

“Hyun...jin,” Seungmin choked and arched his back. 

It was becoming extremely hot under the blanket. As a result Hyunjin decided to just throw it off the bed. To do so he had to lift himself up again and luckily he was able to experience the sight in front of him: Seungmin being a little bit sweaty, quivering because of Hyunjin’s touches. 

Hyunjin continued his action and tried to push his tongue inside of him. At some point he hovered Seungmin’s legs over his shoulders and grasped his hips to hold him still. 

The younger even wrapped his legs around Hyunjin’s head, pulling him deeper inside.

Hyunjin was not sure why, but the force kind of aroused him even more, which was why he lifted Seungmin’s body up to push inside more. 

Seungmin moved his hips against his tongue, trying to feel more of it. He grabbed the sheets beneath him and whined. “Fuck, feels so good, sweetie.” 

It was surprising how sensitive Hyunjin was because the words caused him to moan himself.

“You like that?” Seungmin hissed, “You like this name so much?” 

Hyunjin backed off. “You’re going to be the death of me.” And then their mouths practically crashed together. Hyunjin had lost his patience so all of his emotions flooded into this kiss while he was pinning Seungmin’s wrists onto the mattress. His tongue snuck between the other’s lips edaciously.

“Do you have some lube?” Hyunjin whispered. 

Seungmin hummed in agreement and stretched out his arm to reach for his bedside table. He nearly pushed his clock off the table, but he managed to open the drawer and fish the tube out of it. 

Hyunjin took it and spread the liquid over his hand. “Turn around,” he muttered.

Seungmin hesitated but followed the order. 

“On all fours. It’ll be easier then.” 

“Why?”

“You’ll see.”

Seungmin sighed, but he was too excited himself. Therefore, he just sucked up the order and lifted himself up. 

Hyunjin pressed his pinkie, which was covered in lube, against Seungmin’s rim. 

Almost immediately Seungmin’s arms got weak and he nearly dropped onto the mattress again. 

Hyunjin bent forward and kissed over the younger’s back to relax him. 

Seungmin’s breathing fastened, but he tried to stay relaxed enough. After a while Hyunjin could push his digit into him. 

Seungmin was already trembling and he closed his eyes. 

“Can you take a second finger?”

There was no reply since Seungmin seemed to be ambivalent about the question. He waited it out until he whispered: “Just try another finger first.” 

So Hyunjin tried to use his index finger. He only managed to push the tip inside before Seungmin started already complaining. 

“Stay relaxed.” 

“Easy for you to say,” Seungmin grumbled and breathed aloud. 

At first Hyunjin thought that it was a shame how he was not able to see Seungmin’s face. But then he noticed the mirror on the wall, which pictured Seungmin perfectly. The younger seemed like he did not even notice his own reflection.

Hyunjin entered him slowly and observed how Seungmin’s expression changed. He furrowed his eyebrows and closed his eyes, gripping the sheets and opening his mouth to let out some sweet tones. 

This egged Hyunjin on moving further until he had half of his finger inside of the other. He looked at Seungmin’s hole and how it clenched around him. Something about it was hypnotizing. Then he focused on the mirror again and tried to move his digit a little bit. The reaction was just out of this world. 

Seungmin whimpered openly and it was the greatest fucking sound on earth. Tardily he opened his eyes and noticed Hyunjin’s gazes. His cheeks redend and he looked over his shoulder. “Could you stop this?” 

As answer Hyunjin pushed his digit fully into him. “What do you mean?” he asked cheekily. 

Seungmin moaned. “Staring at me like that.”

“As I’ve already said: I can’t help it.” Hyunjin leaned forward and stole another kiss from Seungmin, robbing the last air the younger had. His fingers wrapped around Seungmin’s erection. He moved his hand up and down in regular movements and pushed his finger in and out. 

“Too much,” Seungmin complained, “Slow down-” 

But Hyunjin was too eager to see him coming so he simply sped up until the orgasm hit Seungmin. 

He dropped onto the mattress. After a while he turned around and although he was laying in his own sperm, he did not care. Instead he dragged Hyunjin toward him and kissed him hard. 

He decided to jerk the older off because he was too tired to do something else. But with him looking like that it was not hard for Hyunjin to come as well.

After having cleaned themselves they changed the sheets so they could lay down again. They were still naked but covered by the blanket. 

Seungmin put his head on Hyunjin’s chest and caressed his chest. He had his eyes closed, enjoying the silence between them. 

Hyunjin brushed through Seungmin’s hair, looking out of the window. They had pulled the curtains out of the way, and now he could observe the breathtaking sunset which was dipping the sky in a glowy orange and red. He smiled at the view and thought that it was so peaceful to lay here with Seungmin, feeling all warm. The waves were lulling them practically to sleep.

“Don’t you have to be back at home?” Seungmin asked softly. 

“The first lessons for tomorrow are canceled anyway. I’ll have enough time to get my stuff from home.” Hyunjin kissed Seungmin’s head. He really did not want to leave. It was just so warm and comfortable. It would probably rip out his heart if he went back home now. He breathed aloud and watched the water. 

“You know,” he suddenly said, “Perhaps it would help you to conquer your hate toward water if you learned swimming.”

“Who says that I want to defeat my fear?” Seungmin whispered, “Everything’s fine.”

“But it could be better than fine. And … I mean, your mother loves swimming.” 

Seungmin’s eyes widened a little bit. Actually, all people around him spoke about his mother in past tense. Hyunjin did not. Was it on purpose? Maybe he had caught the fact that Seungmin always referred to her in the present since she was still an dear person in his life. Her importance did not fade; that was why he kept talking about her like this, ignoring other people who said that it was not appropriate. After all, his mother was 45 years for him and not 33 years. 

“She does,” Seungmin confirmed, “I’ll think about it, okay?” He lifted his head and kissed Hyunjin again. 

And this action made the older way too happy. He wanted this moment to last forever. 

* * *

"So, how was it at Seungmin's?" Minho asked curious. It was obvious that he expected a nice big house, clean and polished.

There were actually some rumors about Seungmin being super rich. That was supposed to be the reason why he was so good at baseball because he had been receiving special training since forever. 

This was nearly hilarious. Hyunjin knew that all those rumors were far away from reality. Actually, Seungmin had learned playing from his father, who was a big baseball fan himself. 

"Beautiful," Hyunjin told, "He lives on a boat." 

The face which Minho made was indeed priceless and it let Hyunjin grinning. He was aware of how odd this sounded. 

"You must be kidding me." 

Hyunjin shook his head. "No, it's a boat down that river. He's been living there for about ten years." 

"Wow, didn't expect that, but it sounds fun!" 

Hyunjin smiled. Yeah, it was fun.

"And the bet?" 

His smile faded. "Uhm, it's okay? I think he kinda likes me." 

Minho laughed. "He kinda likes you? The only times I saw him smile was when the both of you were together.” He wrapped his arm around Hyunjin’s shoulder. “He’s so whipped for you.” 

“Why are you sparkling out of joy?” 

Minho shrugged. “‘Cuz it’s cute?” He winked. “Although I’m a little bit depressed about the fact that my friends date in general.”

Hyunjin frowned. “What?” He looked at him irritated before the realization hit him. “Are you talking about Changbin and Felix?” 

Minho giggled. “No, not really. I think both might have a crush on each other? But I’m talking Wooj and Chan plus you and Seungmin. I mean, at this point you’re already a thing.” Then his face became serious. “But don’t let Chan know about it.” He backed off and pleached his arms. “I’ve also heard that Seungmin starts slacking at the training.” 

Hyunjin gulped and looked away. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, that’s great! We have a better chance to win this sponsorship.” 

“Yeah,” Hyunjin replied, “That’s great.” 

  
  
  
  



	7. Step 7 - confessing

Some days were simply off. 

The way in which Chan ignored Woojin’s hugs and soft kisses on his cheek was one of the indicators for it. He was too busy with planning their next session.

“Wow, just chill,” Minho said, “I mean, the competition’s gotten easier.”

“If you’re talking about the baseball team: I don’t care,” Chan replied, “The transitions are still bad. I stopped the time in between and the gaps are too big. You guys don’t function as a whole.”

“Ouch,” Changbin commented.

Felix suppressed a sad pout. “Sorry,” he apologized quietly, “I’m sure that I confuse the whole dynamic.”

“No, it’s not your fault. At least not only yours,” Hyunjin returned, “As a group we share responsibility equally. We’ll get to this point. We still have some time left.”

“But not too much,” Chan said, his eyes wandering from left to the right constantly. 

Hyunjin was wondering how he managed to read that fast. 

His actions did not last any longer since Woojin pulled his notebook away. Therefore, Chan was about to complain, but got interrupted because his boyfriend pressed his hand onto his mouth.

“No, be quiet.” He raised his eyebrow. “I want you to stay calm, ‘kay?”

The reaction was hesitating, but then Chan nodded, whereas Woojin lowered his hand. 

“Good. Now take some deep breaths, close your eyes and stop going nuts.” 

Chan rolled his eyes. Nevertheless, he followed the order. It seemed to help since his shoulders started relaxing. Furthermore, his facials were less tensed. Slowly he opened his eyes again. “Okay, thank you. I guess, I needed that.”

Hyunjin was still amazed by Woojin being able to shush Chan within a few seconds. Usually nobody would touch Chan in this state of tension, but he was able to break through this barrier. 

Somehow it reminded him of Seungmin since the younger was also a person who preferred to have their blocking methods. 

“We’re not about to have an apocalypse,” Woojin continued, “So please stop this and kiss me.” 

Chan blinked a few times before he started giggling. “Alright.” He looped his arms around the other’s neck and pecked his lips. “You should’ve said this earlier.” 

Woojin grinned and wrapped his arm around his waist. “Maybe I like concentration on your face. Looks good.”

“Oh, hmh yeah, some nice crinkles on my forehead make me a lot more attractive.” 

Woojin laughed and started kissing his neck. 

As a result Minho complained, “Oh my gosh, just get a room!” 

The whole group laughed. However, they were quickly distracted by the baseball team which entered the cafeteria. Sungjin and Seungmin were at the front. They were talking to each other and it seemed to be a serious conversation.

Hyunjin stood up and went over to Yeji, who was approaching him anyway. “Hey,” he greeted, “What's up?” 

His sister sighed. “We're having some fights.” She lowered her voice. “Seungmin seems very off. He explained it by referring to his school work, but like .. he's really somewhere else.” She tapped her chin. “I mean, he’s young. I wouldn’t force him. But the sponsorship’s just really important to Sungjin. He hates to see that we still have to play in our old uniforms. Today somebody’s pants ripped.” 

Hyunjin frowned. “That sucks.”

“I know right? I don’t want trouble in this group. At the same time I understand Sungjin. Like … Seungmin’s so good. I don’t get why he’s so distracted.” Again, she sighed. “Actually, this kind of behaviour reminds me of people who are freshly in love. But it doesn’t fit to him. He doesn’t seem like the person who spontaneously falls in love, you know what I mean?” 

At this Hyunjin gulped. “Ugh, yeah, I guess.” He started sweating and risked a glimpse toward Seungmin.

He had a relaxed, nearly unbothered expression as always. But the way his hands were clutching to the hem of his shirt made obvious that this situation was also not very pleasing for him. 

“Perhaps he isn’t ready yet,” Yeji murmured.

Hyunjin shook his head. “No, like … I don’t know much about baseball. But he’s awesome. He deserves to be the at the top.”

As a reaction Yeji smiled. “I love that you’re so honest. If we don’t win, I hope that your team gets the sponsorship. You guys deserve it.”

Hyunjin would love to agree, but the lump his throat made it impossible. So he stuck to smiling at her. Was it that bad? The bet made him even somehow lying to his sister, his twin, his soulmate. This was just not fair. 

Was this maybe a sign to blow it all off? Then he could just confess to Seungmin about the bet, clarifying that his feelings meant more to him. They meant more than money. More than triumph. More than the barriers between their teams. Gosh, why was it so hard to sort his thoughts out? 

“By the way, I’m going to Ryujin today. We need to work on a school project,” Yeji explained, “Sorry, I know that you wanted to watch a movie. But you can invite somebody else, right?” 

* * *

Hyunjin could probably never get used to Seungmin’s moaning. Most of the time it was quiet, but still sweet. He had to listen attentively and it made it somehow more intimate and special. It felt like a wind, which brushed against his ear and whispered little messages. He could just hear so much within those sounds. They expressed more than lust. Actually they were able to embody Seungmin’s whole vulnerability. The fact that nobody else could experience this side of him got Hyunjin excited.

Both of them spent nearly every free minute together. Sometimes they studied, sometimes they had a discussion about books, sometimes they talked about simple topics. It did not have to include sexual intercourses. Being with Seungmin was more than enough. It depended solely on the situation. 

Right now they were sitting on Hyunjin’s bed, making out and touching each other. Hyunjin had already lost his shirt and Seungmin’s pants were laying somewhere on the floor, but both did not care about it. 

Seungmin slid onto Hyunjin’s lap and sucked on his bottom lip, driving the older crazy. After some open-mouth kisses he started rutting against the other’s thigh, digging his fingernails into his shoulders. 

“Minnie,” Hyunjin called. Sometimes he used this pet name if he wanted to address a more serious topic. 

Seungmin did not stop his motion, but raised his head. “Yeah?”

“I’ve heard that … well, that the baseball team’s training doesn’t go well.” 

Seungmin shrugged at those words and bit Hyunjin’s skin, trying to leave some marks.

“Wait, don’t. I cannot cover them easily unlike you,” Hyunjin whispered. 

That was a valid argument so Seungmin continued by licking over the bit marks, which were about to disappear anyway. 

Softly Hyunjin pushed him back. “You haven’t answered my question.” 

Seungmin tilted his head toward the side. It made him indeed look like a puppy. “Well yeah, I missed some shots and Sungjin was mad about it. He’s a perfectionist.”

“You are as well.”

“That’s true, but I can’t play to the full extent every day. Just because I’m good doesn’t mean that bad days don’t exist.” He unbuckled Hyunjin’s belt and licked his hand before sliding it under his waistband. He was way too used to touching Hyunjin like this, and he knew exactly how he had to move his hands, how he had to kiss the other, how he had to act to make his partner crazy. 

“Yeah, you’re right, I guess,” Hyunjin murmured, “I’m just a bit worried.”   
Seungmin sighed, and grinned. “Well, now you have better chances to win. That’s your plan anyway, isn’t it?” he said jokingly, and Hyunjin nearly choked on his spit. 

He had no time to answer properly because Seungmin was about to suck him off again. Hyunjin had done it some times as well and he liked how it turned Seungmin into a mess. Equally he liked to be treated like this. Actually, it did not matter as long as Seungmin was the one who he could share this experience with. 

Seungmin was always so eager and a little bit messy. He was worse than Hyunjin at blowjobs, but that did not matter. The ambition alone was enough to get insane. And honestly, he was a fast learner. There were still some weird angles and sometimes he was too impatient. Therefore, he tended to move his head in an awkward way, but Hyunjin still found him endearing. Seungmin was just perfect how he was, and Hyunjin did not want to have somebody who could do everything flawlessly. It would rob the transparence of the other, the uncertainty which was shared by both of them.

Seungmin licked over his tip several times before sucking at it. Then he indulged Hyunjin’s length again, moving further until he started gagging. He did not back off anyway and continued shifting his head. There were some tears in the corner of his eyes, but he did not seem to care. Instead he wrapped his hand around the free part of Hyunjin’s erection and let his tongue run along it. 

“I’m coming,” Hyunjin hissed.

Seungmin ignored him and did not stop licking over his hard-on.

“Seungmin, seriously, I-” 

At this point the younger moved his head even faster, so Hyunjin’s orgasm hit both of them by surprise.

Seungmin sat up and wiped over his mouth before he suddenly swallowed everything. He stuck his tongue out and made a grimace. “That was disgusting.” He licked over his lip anyway as he wanted to save every little drop which was given by Hyunjin.

The other blinked in confusion and breathed aloud. He did not want to admit it, but that action had been undeniably hot. Now he had the urge to satisfy the other as well. “Shit, now it’s my turn,” he announced. 

Seungmin smirked. “Mwah, you don’t think you can defeat me, do you?”

Hyunjin chuckled. “I can still try.” He pulled the shirt over Seungmin’s head, enjoying the sight in front of him. He knew that the other was still somehow shy about his appearance. Once he had admitted that he was kind of insecure since he was more on the lanky side, but Hyunjin found him breathtaking. The other was athletic, but also perfectly tender and narrow. Especially his waist was beautiful to look at, to feel and to grasp. 

Hyunjin pulled Seungmin into his lap again and kissed him shortly, tasting himself (which was very weird). Slowly he laid down and smiled. “Come on, let me eat you out.” The direct way of addressing his action made Seungmin a little bit flustered which was very funny since he himself was always so blunt. Maybe it was the fact that Hyunjin was usually not that point-blank. 

“I don’t know how,” Seungmin responded hesitantly. 

At this Hyunjin chuckled in amusement. “Just sit down.”

Seungmin’s eyes widened. “What? On your face?” 

Hyunjin grinned. “Yeah, or how do you imagine it?” 

Seungin’s cheeks were as red as seasoned cherries. 

“Come on, turn around.” 

The younger turned slowly around and supported his lower arms onto Hyunjin’s thighs. The fabric of his pants was rubbing against his skin, but nevertheless it was actually comfortable since he felt Hyunjin’s warm skin on his legs. Still, he was hesitating. 

“You aren’t sitting properly.”    
Seungmin groaned in annoyance. “I can’t do it. I’ll hurt you!”

Hyunjin sighed and gripped his waist. “No, it’s okay. Just trust me.” He paused. “I mean, you do trust me, right?” Besides, Seungmin’s weight was under the average.

At this Seungmin had nothing to return. That was why he actually started lowering his hip until he could feel the known sensation of Hyunjin’s tongue against his rim. Nevertheless, it was a somehow new experience. He gripped Hyunjin’s pants while his breathing fastened. In this position he felt more exposed than usually. 

Hyunjin had no shame and pushed his tongue inside of him, whereas Seungmin moaned. In the meantime Hyunjin pushed him down until he was able to suck on his hole, licking over it eagerly. From time to time he tried to stick his tongue inside, moving the tip further to enter him.

His legs were trembling as Seungmin lifted his head and closed his eyes. Notwithstanding, he was pretty quiet. Some gasps were heard but that was the only open reaction. Sometimes Hyunjin questioned himself whether the younger actually liked what they did, but if that was not the case he would not be able to come. So Hyunjin continued with thrusting his tongue in and out, massaging the other’s hip. 

He was savoring this moment by licking intensely but slowly into him. He moaned against Seungmin’s entrance. At some point he made slurping sounds on purpose because he knew that it was embarrassing to Seungmin.

The confirmation came by a whine. “Hyunjin … stop it.”

Hyunjin broke away. “What? Why?” 

Seungmin had no answer since he only knew that this situation was suffocating and embarrassing in a thrilling way. Somehow he liked how Hyunjin challenged him. At the same time he absolutely hated it.

“Okay, I want to finger you. Give me the lube, please.”

Seungmin sighed and lifted himself up to open the drawer of Hyunjin’s bedside table. He tossed it over and nearly hit Hyunjin’s face.

“Hey!”

“Don’t be so whiny.” Seungmin laid himself down onto his stomach. 

Meanwhile Hyunjin spread the lubricant over his fingers. “Can’t you turn around? I’d like to see your face.”

“Well, sucks for you I guess.”

Hyunjin giggled. “Why are you so snappy?” He kissed between Seungmin’s shoulder blades. “Are you even enjoying this?”

Seungmin turned around and finally Hyunijn could see how breathless he was. His eyes were glassy, his lips parted and his cheeks were still so red. “Why wouldn’t I?” 

“You’re always so silent.”

“Not everybody’s so annoyingly loud like you.” 

Hyunjin shook head and turned Seungmin around. “That’s why I want to see you.” He reached between his legs and pressed his finger into him. Then he frowned. “Oh, you’re a bit loose.”   
“I fingered myself last night.” 

Hyunjin lifted his eyebrow and grinned. “Oh, and what were you thinking about while doing it?”

Seungmin bit his bottom lip and rolled his eyes, closing them as soon as Hyunjin entered him. 

“Come on, tell me.” 

“About you of course, stupid.”

Hyunjin hummed in approval while moving his digit. “And what did I do?”

“That’s so unimportant,” Seungmin hissed and tried to squeeze his legs together, but Hyunjin stopped him from doing so. 

“It’s not. Please tell me.” Hyunjin pushed a second finger into him before he started thrusting them.

Seungmin gasped and opened his eyes. He pressed his lips together. “Maybe I was thinking about actual sex.” 

Hyunjin stopped and looked at his face, although the other had his eyes closed again “Really?” He caressed his leg. “Sex? With me?”

Seungmin opened his eyes. “You’re so unbelievably stupid. Of course I would, that’s why I’m here!” He huffed and tried to kick Hyunjin. 

Hyunjin was still flustered, but he managed to grasp his leg. “Stop it.” He kissed his knee in an apologizing manner. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to be insensitive.”    
Seungmin’s face was still flushed. “Apology accepted. You’re damn lucky that you’re cute.” 

Luckily the mood had not been completely killed so Hyunjin was able to make Seungmin come (otherwise he would have felt bad). After that they were laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and cuddling. It was a blessing that Seungmin also liked to cuddle after sexual interactions. 

“I want to go to the movies,” Seungmin claimed and drew some patterns on Hyunjin’s stomach.

“Okay, let’s do it.” Hyunjin brushed through Seungmin’s hair. He pondered over their earlier conversation until he dared to say something, “So … you were serious about … having sex?” 

Seungmin lifted his head. “Hm, yeah. I mean, I can understand if it’s too early for you.”   
“For me?” Hyunjin giggled. “That’s sweet.” He kissed his forehead. “Actually, this is the only thought I can get off to at the moment.”    
Seungmin made a grimace. “That sounds very-”

“... yeah, it was supposed to be flattering, but I’m realizing the problem.”

As a result Seungmin laughed. “It’s okay.” He cupped Hyunjin’s face. “Well, if you want to, we can try it.”

Hyunjin blinked a few times and took Seungmin’s hands into his own. “Okay.”

* * *

Usually Hyunjin went shopping with his sister since otherwise he would never visit the drug store voluntarily. But this time he had to make an exception. 

After having talked to Seungmin he had read a lot. It was a little bit odd to do researches about sex. He had never thought he would be interested in that kind of topic so soon, however, Seungmin was the proof that he had something similar to a sex drive. A sex drive specifically for that boy he was completely whipped for. 

He x-rayed the different shelves, having problems to find the right pack of condoms. Why were there so many brands anyway? Some could even shine in the dark or had a certain taste. Hyunjin got shivers. He should be probably playing safe and buy something neutral. After a while he finally decided which one to take. His shopping basket was already filled with plenty products. Not only because he wanted to overshadow the fact that he was trying to buy condoms, but he also needed other articles: shampoo for his mother, aftershave for his father, and for himself deodorant, sunscreen, lip balm ...

He kneeled down to inspect some packs of vibrators. He did not intend to buy one (he was not allowed to anyway), nevertheless, they had caught his attention with their pastel colours and very interesting forms, which made him questioning why sex had to be an own fucking science. 

Slowly he got up again just to have half a heart attack as he saw Woojin and Chan, who were standing in front of the snack shelf, probably discussing what type of cookies they should get.

Hyunjin inhaled sharply and bent down before skulking backwards, hoping that they would not notice him. Unfortunately, he bumped against another basket, whereas all sorts of products clanged onto floor. 

Of course the other customers had to turn around and stare at him like he was some sort of alien. Somehow he exactly felt like that. 

Woojin and Chan discovered him as well, obviously surprised to see him in that questionable position. 

“Hyunjin, what are you doing here?” Chan asked.

“Uh, just shopping, you know.” Hyunjin hoped that his face was not as red as he was imagining. 

Chan took a look at his basket and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, sunscreen, lip balm, deodorant …" His face expression changed slightly. "All sorts of protection.”

The last word was like a stab into Hyunjin’s back. “Yeah … you’ll never know what’s gonna happen, right?” He hurried to collect his buyings. “Whatever, I have to go,” he claimed sheepishly.

“Sure, see you at training.” Chan smiled and waved. After that he turned around to Woojin. “Did you see that?”

“If you mean the pack of condoms: Yeah, I saw that.” 

Chan breathed aloud in shock. “But Wooj! He’s baby,” he cried. 

Woojin rolled his eyes in amusement. “We’re both 17 and have regularly sex. Hyunjin's 16. It’s not that big of a difference.”   
As a response Chan pouted and crossed his arms. “It is! I know Hyunjin too well. His head is full of swimming, swimming and more swimming!”

“I’m sure that this isn't true.”

Chan sighed. “I know. I’m just trying to protect his image.” Then he chuckled. “But if he was dating someone, wouldn’t he tell us?”

“Well, after that reaction of yours I understand that he’s maybe a bit embarrassed about it.” Woojin wrapped an arm around him. “If you’re so worried, you could teach him about sex.” He winked. “Sir Captain.”

“Stop calling me like that,” Chan answered and pushed Woojin away.

“Oh yeah, you prefer being called baby boy.”

Chan groaned as his cheeks became a pinkish colour. “I said that you should call me daddy,” he joked. 

Woojin clicked with his tongue. “I think that I would get instantly soft at this.” 

In return Chan just shrugged and looked at the shelf. Slowly he tilted his head toward the side. “Hey, should we buy condoms too?”

* * *

Hyunjin was extremely nervous. Not only because he and Seungmin planned to actually sleep with each other, but also because he had to meet his father. Seungmin had been telling him about Hyunjin for quite a while now, so he invited the boy for lunch in a small, sweet restaurant.

It was more of a casual meeting, but Hyunjin wanted to make a good impression. Therefore, he decided to wear jeans and a white shimmy, leaving the last two buttons open. Simple, but good looking. 

He met Seungmin and his father outside, and the first thing he noticed was that Seungmin looked way too adorable. He wore light-brown shorts and a blue shirt with white stripes. He appeared as so soft that Hyunjin wanted to simply cuddle him. 

“Hello, Hyunjin! Seungmin’s told me a lot about you,” the older man greeted. He bowed down and held out his hand.

Hyunjin followed the gesture and then grabbed the other’s hand. “Hello, nice to meet you, uhm …”   
“You can call me Wonpil.”

After the short greeting they entered the restaurant and sat down at their table. Firstly, Hyunjin was worried about a potential awkward silence, but Seungmin’s father was good at addressing interesting topics.

“So, you like reading as well?” he asked after they had ordered their food.

Hyunjin nodded. “Actually, the library is the place where Seungmin and I talked properly to each other for the first time." He smiled at the memory. Why did nostalgia hit him, although it had not been that long?

So they talked about literature in general and various books which they recommended. Seungmin’s father was intelligent, but also eager to learn more. He seemed surprisingly cheerful. It was like he lived his life to its full potential.

Their food arrived and they started to eat. The silence was soon broken as Seungmin’s father opened a new topic. “I’ve also heard that you’re a swimmer!”   
Hyunjin confirmed. “I’ve been swimming since I’m a little kid.”

“That’s nice. So you’re involved in this year’s sponsorship?”

Hyunjin was genuinely surprised. Even though Seungmin had mentioned that his father and him did not talk much it seemed like he took a lot of interest in his son's life. As a doctor he was obviously very busy, but Hyunjin could tell that it was important for him to listen to Seungmin as much as possible. It was very sweet. 

“I’m so glad that Seungmin considers to learn swimming.” Wonpil smiled. “I was very excited to meet you. You seem like a decent boy.”

“Thank you.” Hyunjin was a little overwhelmed by this compliment, but he felt appreciated and that was an awesome feeling. 

“And you’re also very handsome.”

Hyunjin was so used to that comment, however, this time he was quite embarrassed. “Oh, is that so?”

“Seungmin’s already mentioned it, but I didn’t expect you to be this good-looking.” He winked at him.

“Dad.” Seungmin shot some death glares at his father, however, Wonpil took it light-hearted (he was probably used to those deep eyes).

They finished their lunch. 

“I have to go back to work, but you’re very welcomed to stay over at our place,” Wonpil offered.

“That’s very nice. Thank you.” 

Outside they said goodbye before splitting ways.

“Your father’s nice.”

“Sometimes a tad too nice. I’m more like my mother.”

“Thought so. She must be a wonderful person.”

Seungmin blushed at that hidden compliment and rolled his eyes. “Whatever, I’m glad that he’s gone now. I was afraid that he’d explode out of enthusiasm.”

“I like it when people are open about their feelings.”   
“But it makes them weak, doesn’t it?” 

That statement got Hyunjin thinking. 

They stayed mostly quiet on their way to Seungmin’s home, but it was not uncomfortable. Hyunjin was holding Seungmin’s hand - that was enough for him. 

They entered the boat silently and went to Seungmin’s room where they sat on his bed. “Thank you for coming with us for lunch,” Seungmin said as Hyunjin sat next to him.

“My pleasure. I like your father.”

“He likes you too.” Seungmin smiled. “I’m happy about this.” 

Hyunjin’s heart became so warm that he could not help but to smile back. Something about Seungmin’s cheerful expressions was so adorable. He wanted to scream out of frustration. Slowly he leaned forward to leave a sweet kiss on the other’s lips. 

“You look good, by the way,” Seungmin mumbled and tugged at Hyunjin’s shirt. Then he unbuttoned it. He did not try to make it very sensual, however, the action was not rushed either. It seemed like he simply got lost in that moment, trying to maintain his sanity while getting Hyunjin undressed in an efficient way. Nevertheless, it was enough to drive Hyunjin crazy, nearly desperate. Still he did not dare to move until Seungmin pushed off the shirt. 

He sat on his lap and looped his arms around his neck. Finally he kissed Hyunjin, licking slowly into his mouth while ruffling through his dark hair. He sighed in pleasure and closed his eyes. It was a subtle gesture, but it proved his trust. Seeing him somehow passionate and calm at the same time was so exciting that Hyunjin’s knees started shaking lightly. 

He cupped Seungmin’s butt and gave it a squeeze.

“Who said that you’re allowed to touch me there?” Seungmin whispered.

Hyunjin smirked. “I don’t need your verbal approval. I know that you want it.” He kissed along Seungmin’s neck and sucked at some spots. He loved the design of the shirt because he had an easy access to Seungmin’s collarbones too. Therefore, he continued with his kisses there, his lips trailing to his clothed shoulder after a while. 

His hands wandered down until he opened Seungmin’s belt, pushing it off before trying to free him from the piece of clothes.

“That doesn’t work if I'm sitting on you,” Seungmin said, flicking his fingers against Hyunjin’s forehead, “You’re so impatient, sweetie.”

“You make me crazy.”

“Poor you.” Seungmin stood up and got undressed until he only wore his underwear. Then he sat back on Hyunjin’s lap and kissed him again before triggering a makeout session. At this point both of them were desperate, longing for each other. Their lips kept moving against each other, Hyunjin could even feel Seungmin’s teeth. Sometimes it hurt, but he ignored the pain. The sensation of Seungmin’s body under his fingertips was just too blissful. He could not care less about the pain. 

“I have to wash myself,” Seungmin whispered and backed off. 

Hyunjin sulked as the other stood up. 

“Stop making that face. I’ll be right back.” Seungmin collected his clothes to lay them over the chair (he was indeed tidy). Then he left the room. 

Hyunjin was becoming nervous. Although he was sure that they would somehow manage this, there were one million (probably unnecessary) thoughts in his head - it was sickening. Should he get undressed? Or was it better to wait? How should he even start? He sighed loudly and fell on the mattress. Why was it just so hard to predict those kind of situations? He felt ridiculous as he kept just making up things in his head. 

The door opened again and Seungin stood there, only a towel around his waist. Hyunjin had seen him without a shirt so often, but it was still an alluring sight. His eyes were nearly glued on the narrow body. 

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Seungmin questioned and sighed, walking over to him before settling down. 

“Am I not allowed?”

“You are. I just don’t get why you're doing it.” 

Hyunjin chuckled. The question was so sincere, it drove him wild. “Because … I could watch you all day.”

“I knew that you’re a stalker.” Seungmin put his hand on Hyunjin’s thigh to push himself up. He kissed the other’s cheek while his towel slid off.

Hyunjin’s hands were immediately on his soft skin, caressing it carefully before pressing the younger down. “How are you feeling?”

“Good. Now kiss me.”

And how could Hyunjin say "No" to those deep eyes, which were about to suck him in? Furthermore, he liked how straightforward Seungmin was. It made things clearer, easier. Usually people would try to manipulate Hyunjin in order to get something. But Seungmin was transparent, not afraid to show his intentions. 

Hyunjin’s mouth found its way on Seungmin’s neck again. He peppered sweet kisses all over it until he decided to extend the actions more by biting him softly.

Seungmin sighed and grabbed Hyunjin’s hair. “Why’s your hair so long? Isn’t it unpractical?”

Hyunjin let go. “That’s why swim caps exist.” He smiled. “I don’t know. I just don’t feel like cutting it.” 

“I like it.”

“You do?”

A nod was the simple response. 

Hyunjin stroked the inner side of Seungmin’s thigh. “I’ll be honest: I’m pretty nervous.”

“Me too,” Seungmin replied immediately.

A laugh was heard. “Yeah? You seem so calm.”

“Doesn’t mean anything, stupid.” Then Seungmin pulled him closer for a kiss. “I may be nervous, but I know that I want it.”

Hyunjin took his hand and kissed it. “Why are you so sure?”

Now Seungmin seemed to hesitate and it was irritating. His eyes were wandering through the room. Usually he did not avoid eye contact, so this was a little bit worrying. However, Hyunjin did not want to push him. He waited for a potential answer.

“Because,” Seungmin started, “I have this … assumption.”

“About what?” Hyunjin asked softly, his fingers brushing against the soft cheek of the other. 

Seungmin’s breathing fastened. “That … So … Perhaps …” He stopped and gulped before sitting up. He wrapped his arms around Hyunjin’s neck and rolled them over. Now he was crouching over the Hyunjin.

“I think that I love you.”

At this point Hyunjin’s heart did not work anymore. How could it work? He was indeed worried that he would simply die now. 

The confession was not only overwhelming. It was so simple, yet honest, judging by Seungmin’s gaze. He was so bare, and it was not caused by him sitting naked on Hyunjin. Something about those words were so powerful that Hyunjin could not breath anymore.

That was just like he imagined drowning. But it was beautifully painful. Beautiful because the most gorgeous boy was in front of him, confessing his love. Painful because Hyunjin did not know whether it was appropriate to return it. Not because he did not feel like it. It was because his first thought was the bet. 

The fucking bet.

In this unexpected moment he had fulfilled the condition to win this game. And how did it feel? Actually, he felt like losing. Losing his sanity. Losing his humanity. Losing … Seungmin’s trust. 

He had been hesitating for too long, therefore, Seungmin became uncomfortable. “You don’t have to return it. It’s okay. I just wanted to say it. I mean …” He sighed. “My father’s been having those kind of thoughts. Thoughts that I might be emotionless. He’s worried about me.” Slowly he began smiling. “I had been feeling so cold inside until I met you. It’s not like I want to make a k-drama out of this. I may be naive as well, but I want to share everything with you.” He leaned forward. “ _ Everything.”  _ He cupped Hyunjin’s face. “And I don’t want to push you into something. I just … I appreciate every single detail of you. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a flaw or a perfection. It makes you so real, so trustworthy, so … warm.” It was not that noticeable, but his hands were slightly shaking. “You make me a better person by trying to be better yourself. I’ve never seen somebody who’s so ambitious. I think … No, I  _ know  _ that I could never get tired of you.”

Hyunjin was just blown away. This was probably the longest Seungmin had ever spoken in a row to him. And he felt so appreciated and yes, also loved. “Fridge boy” was not a fitting name for him at all. He was also able to warm Hyunjin up. 

“I feel the same,” he muttered and cleared his throat, “Actually, I don’t want to say that much because you’ve expressed your feelings so lovely already.” He smiled and pulled Seungmin down to hug him. “I love you too. I love you so much.” 

It felt weird to say it. He had never expected to say it to a person that soon. But their bond was special, he could just feel it. It was nothing solely on the surface. There was so much more to explore and to learn. Seungmin was person who was actually interested in getting to know Hyunjin thoroughly. 

Seungmin sighed against the crook of Hyunjin’s neck. “Thank you,” he whispered. 

Hyunjin kissed his shoulder over and over, leading his hands along Seungmin’s back. “So, are you really sure that you want to …?”

“Yes,” Seungmin interrupted him, “Just stop asking.” He smiled against Hyunjin’s skin. He leaned over to his bedside table and took the lubricant. “I’ve fingered myself in the shower already, but you should do it maybe now too,” he told and looked at the other expectantly.

“You really like having plans, don’t you?” Hyunjin murmured and spread the liquid over his fingers before lining his index finger up. 

“I’ve just read that especially the first time can hurt. But it should be fine with enough preparation.” 

Hyunjin gulped. What if he was about to hurt the other?

“Hyunjin, it’s okay,” Seungmin assured, “I won’t die. Nobody hasn’t so far.” He flicked his fingers against Hyunjin’s forehead once again.

Therefore, Hyunjin started pushing his finger in and out, watching the other’s expression in fascination. But soon Seungmin hid is face in the crook of his arm, which he had propped on Hyunjin’s chest. 

Hyunjin gave some protesting sounds since he wanted to see the other, however, Seungmin ignored his pleadings and pressed his thighs against Hyunjin’s waist. He was not that loud, but if Hyunjin listened closely he could perceive the little moans and gasps, which caused goosebumps all over his body. 

Soon Hyunjin was able to move two fingers inside of him. Now he was busy with kissing Seungmin’s head while running his other hand along his back. Sometimes he was able to hit his prostate, but he did not want to overwhelm the other. That was why he stuck to a leisure pace. 

They had all the time in the world. Why should he rush? Especially since Seungmin’s skin was so warm and soft against him. He could lose himself in that sensation. 

Seungmin looked up and licked over his hand. Slowly he rose up so he could reach between their bodies. Then he wrapped his fingers around Hyunjin’s dick, which had been becoming a bit hard during their actions. 

“Ah, wait for a sec,” he instructed. 

Hyunjin stopped, a little irritated. Was ist too much already? 

Seungmin pushed Hyunjin’s wrist back and sat up before turning around. “I want to do it again,” he murmured. 

“What? Sitting on my face?” 

The words caused Seungmin’s body to tremble a bit. 

Hyunjin chuckled. “Then you can try to suck me off again,” he suggested. 

Instead of answering Seungmin leaned down to capture the tip with his lips. Soon his head was moving up and down while Hyunjin licked eagerly into Seungmin’s loose hole. He could tell that the other was quite relaxed and it had a calming effect on him as well. 

“It tastes … like … vanilla?”

“Yeah, I bought it yesterday. Thought you might like it.”

Hyunjin found it rather weird, but the gesture itself was sweet. And actually, it was kind of addicting to taste something while eating the other out. At some point he started to thrust into his entrance again, watching how it practically sucked him in. “Is it okay now?” he asked, not sure whether the other needed more time.

Seungmin did not answer. Instead he swirled his tongue along Hyunjin’s length, teasing it until he indulged it again. His head moved around, a bit too hasty. 

“S-Stop, or otherwise I’ll come,” Hyunjin stuttered.

Seungmin ignored him and wrapped his fingers around the remaining length, moving everything at the same time. It got too overwhelming, and Hyunjin could not help but bucking his hips up, until Seungmin moved his hand away to take him fully. Hyunjin could feel that his tip hit Seungmin’s throat lightly, making him whine, but the younger still continued. 

“No, wait, Seungmin-” Hyunjin cut himself off as his orgasm rolled over him like a truck. He grabbed the other’s waist, digging his nails into it while he came in Seungmin’s mouth.

The other sat up and swallowed everything. He turned around and laid down, licking over his lips. 

“Why did you ...”

“I felt like it." 

Hyunjin shook his head in disbelief. He even laughed slightly. “What should I do with you?” 

“Everything you want to.” 

Those words made Hyunjin’s heart jump (moreover, it made him hard again). He sat up and looked around. “Wait, I have condoms in my bag.”

“Oh, so well organized,” Seungmin teased and got up to get the pack. He took a condom out of it and gave it to Hyunjin.

The older wanted to rip it open, but his fingers were too wet from the lubricant, so he grew frustrated.

Seungmin chuckled at this and took the package to open it instead. He squeezed the tip of the condom and tried to roll it over Hyunjin’s erection, but it slipped away.

Both looked in confusion before laughing together.

“Sorry, I’m still nervous,” Seungmin admitted. Nevertheless, the tone of his voice was sweet and calm.

“It’s okay. We’ll manage.” 

Seungmin tried it once again and this time he had his shaking fingers under control. “So … should I just …”

“I can also …”

“Yeah …”

Silence. 

In this moment a ray of sunshine fell through the panorama window, reflecting on Seungmin’s hair. The younger stared at the mattress and fumbled on the sheets. Hyunjin was nearly entranced at the image; Seungmin sitting in front of him, the bare beauty he was. 

“Okay, let me try,” Seungmin decided and hovered over Hyunjin, taking the other’s cock into his hand. He put the tip against his hole and closed his eyes. In an agonizing pace he started to sink down, pausing from time to time to get used to it.

Hyunjin did not care that Seungmin took a whole while to adjust. He was too busy staring at his face anyway. It was always a privilege to observe his face during sexual interactions. Every little detail in change was it worth to be seen. 

Finally Seungmin sat on his lap, immediately reaching for Hyunjin’s shoulders. “Oh my …” He choked at his sentence and scrunched his nose, automatically tensing up.

“Shit, shit, are you okay?” Hyunjin asked and wrapped his arms around Seungmin’s waist.

“Yeah, no, fuck …” Seungmin gasped and gulped. He was still aroused, however, his erection seemed to go down because of the pain. 

Hyunjin wanted to get Seungmin off his lap, but the other slapped his hands. “What are you doing?”

“You’ll hurt yourself.“

“No, I’m fine.“

“It shouldn’t hurt!” Sex was known as something enjoyable and seeing Seungmin in this state destroyed Hyunjin’s entire heart.

Before he could say anything further, Seungmin pulled him closer to press his opened mouth onto his, licking eagerly into it.

The action had been so sudden that Hyunjin’s reflex caused him to simply return the kiss. Actually, he felt how he was calming down. Feeling the other’s lips against his stirred a thunderstorm inside of him before it turned into a warm sensation. 

Seungmin backed off slowly and caressed Hyunjin’s face. “What do you expect? It’s normal that it can hurt. It’s not your fault.” He sighed. “Not everything can be perfect and super great.” He smiled and wrapped his arms around him to hide his face in Hyunjin’s shoulder. “It’s better. I feel good.”

“Are you sure?”

Seungmin moved his hips slightly and gasped. “Ah, yeah, feels a little weird, but it’s fine.” He continued experimenting with slow and small movements. He grabbed Hyunjin’s hair and pulled slightly at it, eliciting a moan from the other.

Hyunjin was seriously afraid that he would blow his load instantly, but he had enough self control to hold back at least for a bit longer. He did not want to fulfill his pleasure without having caused Seungmin to feel like this as well. 

He held his hips, his thumbs stroking over the skin.

Then Seungmin moaned for the first time during that new action. It was very quiet, but still noticeable. From there he was braver to rise up and sink down a little faster. His hands clung onto Hyunjin’s shoulder now, his nails digging into the skin. 

Hyunjin could not hold back his moans anymore and let a few curses slip here and there. He breathed warmly against Seungmin’s neck and began sucking at it. He felt how the other’s back arched and it was a wonderful feeling beneath his hands. 

“Are you enjoying this?” he asked as he noticed that Seungmin was still pretty silent.

The younger leaned back and his face was pure art. His cheeks were red, his lips glossy from how many times he had licked over them and his eyes were surprisingly bright. They were so vivid, like Seungmin had snapped out of a hole. And there were so many emotions swirling around in his irises: lust, desperation, helplessness, vulnerability. Everything Hyunjin wanted to see since it was such a rare experience. 

“Yeah,” Seungmin hissed and sighed loudly.

“You’re so quiet again.”

Seungmin smirked. “Well, I’m doing all the work, so I need to be concentrated.” 

Hyunjin blinked several times before chuckling. His hold on Seungmin’s waist became tighter and he bucked up his hips.

Seungmin’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He whined and propped his hands on Hyunjin’s knees.

Well, that was the kind of reaction Hyunjin desired to receive. He tried again and was becoming more confident in his movements as he could observe the pleasure on Seungmin’s face. He bit his lower lip and put his hands on Seungmin’s thighs, squeezing them teasingly. 

“Oh my god, yes!” Seungmin claimed and it sounded nearly pornographic. Hyunjin was becoming dizzy at this point, but he increased the impact of his thrusts by placing the soles of his feet on the mattress. Now he was able to snap his hips with more force, causing Seungmin to fall apart. 

His hands wandered up until he could touch Seunmin’s nipples. Usually he would ask, but now he was too occupied by his own arouse. Therefore, he just pressed the buds between his thumb and index finger.   
Seungmin seemed to be very sensitive there since he threw his head back, leaning against Hyunjin’s legs. His moans sounded actually like singing. Melodious and sinful. And the best thing was that they were gradually becoming louder. They were complemented by the sound of their skin hitting against each other. 

Hyunjin’s thrusts were more frantic now and he tried to touch every inch of Seungmin’s torso. 

Seungmin shifted forward and pressed his hands against Hyunjin’s stomach. As the bed started creaking from moving too much he asked for being touched.

Hyunjin immediately reacted and took Seungmin’s erection in his hand before jerking him off. 

The younger did not last long and spilled his sperm all over them. He began quivering, obviously sensitive from the orgasm. He stuck his tongue out and moaned Hyunjin’s name. 

And it was so overwhelming and lovely to hear that Hyunjin could not help but fill the condom. 

They stayed like this, trying to get their breathing under control again. Although they were pretty sweaty, Hyunjin hugged Seungmin, pulling him from his lap away.

His eyelids were fluttering as Seungmin looked at Hyunjin, smiling weakly. “Shit, I’ll be so sore.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” 

They took a shower a together, giving each other pecks here and there, washing their bodies. Hyunjin loved having his hands on Seungmin’s body without any sexual intentions. It was just about appreciating the other’s presence. 

Afterwards they stood outside at the brink of the boat to observe the water. Their fingers were intertwined, clinging onto each other. 

Hyunjin smiled at the waves which greeted him back. The whole scenery was so calming; like time stood still, just for them. 

“Hyunjin,” Seungmin called suddenly. 

“Yeah?” 

“Would you teach me swimming?” 

He turned his head toward the younger. “Why are you asking now?” 

Seungmin smiled tenderly. “I don’t know … Maybe because the water looks extra beautiful today.” 

Hyunjin was surprised by this uncomplicate answer, but it made him somehow happy. He looked at the river again and recognized that Seungmin was absolutely right. 


	8. Step 8 - being not afraid of drowning

So Hyunjin was in love.

That was great since Seungmin felt the same. And they were obsessed with spending time together. They were able to stop pondering over the stress which came from the sponsorship competition and the school. As soon as they were together, everything was fine. 

Hyunjin had realized that he was practically addicted. He enjoyed making love to Seungmin way too much, and for the first time of his life he felt like a helpless teenager. And that was also great.

However, the sponsorship was not too far away. The sponsors wanted to come next week and would take three days to evaluate every club. As far as it was known, the baseball team had the evaluation on the second day and the swim club on the third day. 

Of course Minho was eager to know the current situation of the bet since the original intention had been to distract Seungmin. Actually, both were distracted now and Hyunjin was not entitled to complain about it. He was happy. Nevertheless, he got nervous every time his sister told about the tensed situation in the baseball team. 

Aside from Hunjin’s decreasing concentration the swimming team made some tremendous progress. Felix was fully integrated into the team now, and it had gotten easier to communicate with each other. Hyunjin was kind of glad, but he could not forget about the baseball team either. Silently he hoped that his team would not win or else he would drown in guilt.

He was a coward. The time with Seungmin was too beautiful and he was not ready to put it on risk. 

Right now he was pressing the younger into the mattress and grabbed his narrow shoulders. They had to be quiet since Yeji was in her room, but Hyunjin knew that she was listening to music through her headphones (she always did that during homework). Therefore, he had no shame about thrusting into Seungmin, causing quiet moans from the other. 

Firstly, Hyunjin had been worried about Seungmin being too sore for training, but actually the other was capable of enduring this condition. And to be honest, it was too hard for Hyunjin to resist. If Seungmin wanted something, he would get it. 

Seungmin was panting and wrapped his arms around Hyunjin’s neck. His hair stuck to his forehead because of the sweat and his mouth was constantly open. 

Hyunjin could feel his warm breath and it only spurred him on. He trailed his hands along Seungmin’s legs before lifting them a bit up. His eyes were glued on the other’s face, trying to memorize every single reaction. Soon his lips were on Seungmin’s, capturing their sweet taste. 

The sound of their skin slapping against each other only increased. Hyunjin genuinely enjoyed the sensation of the arching back beneath his finger tips. His hip snapped forward, hitting Seungmin’s butt. Sometimes he took a glimpse to the spot where they were connected, hoping that it would keep him sane. 

Seungmin grabbed Hyunjin’s hair and pulled them. He could not suppress a louder moan and threw his legs around Hyunjin’s waist. His soft face was painted by pure lust and passion. Hyunjin wanted to kiss every inch of his skin. It was better to see Seungmin. Normally the younger would prefer to hide his face or to turn around, but in this position Hyunjin was able to read his emotions a little bit better. And he loved to see how Seungmin enjoyed their actions as well. 

“Ah, right there,” Seungmin sighed and bit his lower lip, “You’re doing so well, sweetie.” He had noticed that Hyunjin was weak for praise and sweet compliments. That was why he made such comments, trying to break Hyunjin’s facade. 

“Look at you,” he whispered, “So eager.” He even grasped Hyunjin’s hip to pull him deeper.

Hyunjin groaned and pressed his mouth onto Seungmin’s. 

“Why are you always so desperate?” Seungmin murmured. It was noticeable in his voice that he had to grin. 

Instead of answering Hyunjin put his hands onto Seungmin slim waist and moved him against his thrust. This caused Seungmin to practically choke on his next words. He started whining and writhing beneath the older. 

“You’re too provocative,” Hyunjin hissed breathless while pounding into the other. His instincts took over and he fucked shamelessly into the other, causing the headboard of the bed to bump against the wall.

Seungmin came shortly afterwards, trying to hold back his moans. 

Hyunjin thrusted particularly deep into hin, his hips stuttering before he filled the condom with his sperm. He stayed like this for a couple of seconds before pulling out. He knotted the condom and threw it into the bin before getting tissues to clean Seungmin and himself. 

"You okay?" he asked as he laid down next to him. 

"Yeah." Seungmin rolled onto Hyunjin to look at his face. “Shit.” 

“What?” 

“I made a hickey.” He touched Hyunjin’s jawline. “I am so sorry.” He sounded very serious and not particularly sorry, but Hyunjin could see the regret in his eyes.

“It’s okay. I’ll find an excuse.” Hyunjin kissed his forehead. He stroked through Seungmin’s hair and started humming. “Hey, have you ever read a romance?” 

Seungmin raised his eyebrow. “Duh, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?”

Hyunjin laughed. “Yeah, no, I mean modern literature.” 

The younger tapped his chin. “Edward and Bella, Twilight.”

“Really?”

“It’s a cliche. And I absolutely hate their relationship. It’s obnoxious and possessive.” 

Hyunjin laughed. He did not know why, but there was something very satisfying about the way in which Seungmin was ripping apart a trendy novel. He loved his honesty. It was raw and real. 

“I think that Katniss and Peeta are the best fictional couple,” Seungmin continued. 

At this, Hyunjin was surprised. He had not expected an honest answer. “Yeah? Why?”

“It’s fresh and different. Peeta loves Katniss so much, but she needs to find out what she feels. They go through so much shit that it is nearly upsetting, however, they need each other like breathing. Sometimes it’s agonizing, sometimes it’s intense. They have less kisses than other teenager couples, but they don’t need it anyway.” Seungmin sighed. “Their gazes, their actions, their words mean so much - it is … romantic. I really like it. Their romance is unique and difficult. A relationship needs to be built up in order to be strong. Collins’ work on this is awesome and well thought.” 

Hyunjin was genuinely impressed. He had never thought that Seungmin could capture feelings and the complexity of young love so well. He was indeed full of surprises. 

“What about you?” 

Hyunjin needed a moment to think about that. “Actually, I don’t know. There are many cute romances out there.” He smiled. “I can’t decide.”

“Of course you can’t.”

“What?” Hyunjin chuckled.

“You even have problems with choosing which pair of socks you should wear.” 

Sometimes it was frightening how well Seungmin knew him already. He caught all those little details. Details which were usually unimportant to others. But he treated this information like it was something precious. Hyunjin adored it. 

“Well, but I’ve decided to be with you,” Hyunjin said and kissed Seungmin’s chin and then his pretty mouth, “And I'm very confident in that decision.”

“Good for you,” Seungmin whispered. 

* * *

“Hyunjin, you’re staring,” Changbin teased.

But how could he resist? Seungmin was standing over there filling out some lists, probably to participate in some mathematics competitions again. And Hyunjin could watch him all day long. Even him just minding his business captured his attention because every gesture was well-thought, precise and minimalistic. Everything about Seungmin had this certain flair of pureness. 

“What about the bet?” Changbin asked curiously. He was not that up to date, but he asked once in a while to check on the situation.

“Nah, it’s okay. I don’t think I’ll win anyway,” Hyunjin said automatically, and actually it was kind of worrying that it was so easy to lie. Was it maybe because he was so used to lie to Seungmin? But was it even lying? He just did not tell about the bet. But his feelings were there - he knew it. However, it was hard to explain the unfortunate situation, and if Seungmin should find out about this game he might be in real trouble. He knew that it was no solution to stay silent, therefore, he had to think about a good explanation and a good opportunity to tell Seungmin all those things which were bundled up inside of him.

“He seems to like you as well.”

“Yeah, he’s a good friend.” Hyunjin bit on his tongue. It was pretty weird to call Seungmin friend, although they shared those little details, those deep conversations and those habits with each other. Heck, they kissed and had sex on a regular basis. You could call that anything, but not a fucking friendship. 

“Oh, look, there’s Chan,” he tried to change the topic.

Chan was talking to the leader of the basketball team and seemed pretty serious. The conversation was probably not very pleasant since he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. That was quite untypical since he was known as bright and happy person. 

“Do you think it’s about the sponsorship?” Hyunjin asked.

“What else?” Changbin sighed. “I’m glad that it’ll be over soon. People start getting annoying.”  
Hyunjin was also looking forward to ending this competition. It did not even matter anymore whether they would win or not. Maybe he could just hold on and then leave this whole sponsorship-bet-stupid-shit-thing behind to focus on Seungmin. To read, to talk, to live. Seungmin was actually the reason why he saw a purpose in swimming out of feeling. Without any rushing nor preparing for competitions. They should swim in that river some time, but that would likely trigger some sad memories. 

Still, there were endless opportunities to spend his time better. Swimming was dear to him, but perhaps it was time to discover new possibilities. He was young and dumb. So he wanted to do dumb things, although Seungmin would stop him (but that was exactly another reason why he cherished him). 

Chan was finished with talking and joined the two. “Hey.”

“Hey, what’s up?” 

Chan rolled his eyes. “Seongwha tried to convince me into some general rules which should be followed by everyone to make this competition ‘fair’. Such a bullshit.” He huffed. “That’s so manipulative. They cannot stand the fact that we’re at the top right now.”

“And the baseball team?” Hyunjin said, a bit flustered.

Chan blinked a few times. “Oh, haven’t you heard? Seungmin is excluded from training until the sponsorship’s over. And this damages their reputation.” He shrugged. “So I guess our chances are higher now. I mean, I’m not complaining.”

Hyunjin gulped and looked over to Seungmin. Why had the other not told him that yet? Additionally, he seemed normal. Like always. He definitely had to talk to him again.

“Whatever, I’m about to meet Woojin. See you guys later.” Chan left. 

“You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Changbin frowned. 

Hyunjin just shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

* * *

“Seungmin.” 

They were both in the changing rooms of the swim hall. It was late afternoon so there were practically no students nearby. Chan had lent Hyunjin the keys after the younger had explained that he wanted to do some extra training (which was not even a lie - kind of). 

“Hm?” Seungmin pulled his shirt over his head and folded it neatly before putting it next to his pants. 

“I heard that you’re excluded from training.” 

Seungmin just nodded, looking at his clothes. 

“Why haven’t you told me?” 

Seungmin sighed and looked up. “I didn’t think that it was mentionable.”   
Hyunjin raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me? We’re talking about _the_ sponsorship.” 

In the next moment the younger wrapped his arms around Hyunjin’s neck. “Yeah, maybe I’m not ready yet. There’s just a whole world outside of sports. I’ve been doing baseball intensely because there was nothing else which was fulfilling.” He hesitated. “But you know, being with you is so much better.” 

Those words made Hyunjin endlessly soft, however, he was still worried. “You don’t have to sacrifice your achievements to be with me. I do sports as well. I don’t understand why you would need to give up something.” 

“It’s not about giving up. It’s about setting my priorities freshly.” Seungmin indicated a smile. “For the first time of my life I feel like someone normal. Someone who can love and can be loved.” He chuckled. “That sounds very cheesy, doesn’t it?” Then he grabbed Hyunjin’s hand. “Come on, let’s go to the pool.” 

Seungmin was relatively calm and had no big problems to enter the pool - at least as long as he could see the ground easily. Hyunjin explained the movements as simple as possible. He hoped that this would kind of lower Seungmin’s fear. Although the younger seemed relatively relaxed, he could see how his shoulders were slightly trembling. 

“I think it’s important to simply float with the water. It helps you. It isn’t your enemy,” he explained. 

“Am I in philosophy class now?” 

Hyunjin laughed. “Maybe?” He held Seungmin’s wrist and pulled him closer. “You know what? Let’s just try that float part.” Therefore, he helped the other to lay in the water with his face towards the ceiling. Of course he supported him by putting his palms beneath his back. “Is that okay?” 

The younger simply hummed in agreement. 

Hyunjin let him take all the time in the world and guided him gently through the water. “I think it has something ruminant.”

“Yeah, it’s relaxing.” And finally Seungmin’s shoulders released some tension. He even closed his eyes and breathed through his nose. 

Hyunjin found it aesthetic: the way Seungmin’s hair was twirling around in the water, the way Seungmin’s eyelids were slightly flattering, the way his hands were gliding through the blue. He seemed so peaceful that Hyunjin did not want to interrupt him in this state. 

After a while Seungmin opened his eyes again. “Can we try real swimming now?” 

“Uh, yeah sure!” 

Hyunjin backed off so Seungmin could stand on his feet again. 

“Do you want some water wings?” 

Seungmin shook his head. “No, if I drown, you’ll save me.” His voice was filled with such honesty that it melted Hyunjin’s heart. His trust was so pure and innocent that it drove the other crazy. 

This time Seungmin faced the brink of the pool while Hyunjin had his hands on the younger’s stomach. “Your discipline is breaststroke, right?”

“Yeah. I can do freestyle pretty decent as well, but breaststroke feels more natural.” 

Seungmin was gliding through the water and tried to do the movements which Hyunjin had explained. He was doing fine, that was why he suggested to do it alone. 

They were still at the shallow side of the pool so Hyunjin had not too much to worry about. 

Seungmin pushed himself off the ground and did some strokes before he started struggling. Hyunjin was immediately there to hold him. 

They tried it a couple of times before Seungmin was able to swim at least a few metres on his own. 

“Hey, that looks good!” Hyunjin commented. 

"It's exhausting,” Seungmin mumbled. 

Hyunjin smiled. “Yeah, it can be pretty exhausting. Let’s take a break.” 

They got out of the pool and sat down on the sun loungers. Hyunjin wrapped a towel around Seungmin’s shoulders before looking at the water.

“You can go for a swim,” Seungmin suggested. 

“Huh?”

“I know that it’s boring to swim with me so you can swim on your own for a bit.” 

Hyunjin smiled. “It’s never boring to be with you, love.” He kissed his forehead. 

Seungmin became slightly red because of the pet name. 

In the end Hyunjin decided to follow Seungmin's suggestion. Not even for practicing. He simply liked the feeling of freedom as soon as he dived into the water. Time would stop for him and he loved that. 

However, he did not want leave Seungmin for too long. Therefore, he had enough after fifteen minutes and joined Seungmin again. Now he was fully wet, his hair sticking onto his forehead and the water running down his face.

The younger looked up and stared intensely at him.

“What?” Hyunjin asked, grabbing a towel to dry his face. 

“You look hot.” 

Sometimes Seungmin was surprisingly blunt and it was flustering, but also kind of funny. Hyunjin was able to shake off the comment by laughing. 

“Why are you laughing? That was a compliment.” 

“Well, thank you then.” Hyunjin leaned forward to peck Seungmin’s lips. 

Seungmin blinked a few times before grabbing Hyunjin’s neck and kissing him properly. The action caught Hyunjin by surprise, but he did not complain. Instead he returned the kiss and closed his eyes, propping himself on the sun lounger Seungmin was still sitting on. 

Slowly Seungmin’s hands wandered down until they laid on Hyunjin’s chest, squeezing his pecs. 

Hyunjin gasped and broke away. “Why are you teasing me?” he questioned, suppressing a pout. 

Seungmin’s face had a lovely tone of pink. “Felt like doing it.” 

Hyunjin’s eyes roamed over Seungmin’s body until they stuck on his crotch. “Wait, why are you turned on?” 

“Idiot,” Seungmin said before putting a towel on his lap, “Sometimes I think that you’re the real tease.” He clicked his tongue and looked away. 

Hyunjin lifted his chin to kiss him softly. “Sorry, it’s just … overwhelming that you can be so needy.” He winked and Seungmin kicked his leg. 

“Shut the fuck up.” 

“Ouch, that’s so mean, Seungminnie!” Hyunjin pushed Seungmin back until the younger laid down. 

There was some sort of awkward silence until Seungmin touched Hyunjin’s jawline. “Has nobody noticed the hickey?”

Hyunjin shook his head. “Waterproof makeup does work well.” He took the towel of Seungmin’s lap and threw it away.   
“Hey!” 

“What?” Hyunjin grinned and pulled Seungmin’s swimming trunks down. He kissed his thighs before licking his erection. 

“Wait, that’s really not …” Seungmin gasped and tugged at Hyunjin’s hair. 

Hyunjin started sucking his tip and massaging his thighs at the same time. In an agonizing pace he sank down and started to move his tongue around Seungmin’s length. 

“Hyunjin, stop,” Seungmin whined, “We’re in fucking public, you idiot.” 

After a while Hyunjin backed off and licked his bottom lip. “Nobody’s here at the time.” 

Seungmin’s face was red as a tomato. “There’s a whole panorama window!” 

Hyunjin pulled him up. “Well then let’s get back into the pool to cool down your problem.” 

Seungmin seemed to think about various solutions. Maybe he could just shower coldly as well, hoping that he would forget about how arousing the situation was. But before he could ponder any longer Hyunjin dragged him into the pool again. 

“Gosh, you’re so tiring,” Seungmin murmured.

“But you love me.” 

The other just mumbled some insults which made Hyunjin laugh. He wrapped his arms around the slender waist and put his chin onto Seungmin’s shoulder. “You’re so cute.” 

“Why am I cute now?” Seungmin asked, a little bit annoyed. 

“Because you’re cute when you’re confused.” 

“I’m not confused. I’m tired of your bullshit. You’re so-” He was interrupted by the kiss Hyunjin pressed onto his open mouth. It did not take long before the older slid his tongue between the narrow lips. He eagerly licked into the welcoming warmth and tightened his grip around Seungmin’s waist. 

Seungmin had no nerves to resist so he simply responded the kiss. He turned around to grab Hyunjin’s shoulders. Both of them began stumbling until Seungmin’s back hit the brink of the pool. 

Hyunjin’s lips were trailing along Seungmin’s irresistible neck, biting it softly before kissing the skin in an apologetic manner. He was somehow firm but tender at the same time like he was still worried about breaking the other. Hyunjin sighed and tugged on Seungmin’s swim trunks again before pulling them down. 

Seungmin had some struggles to lift his legs so the other could free him entirely. The action was a bit clumsy and he hit his back against the brink again which made him complain. 

Hyunjin started kneading Seungmin’s thighs, breathing against his skin and kissing it like he was extremely thirsty, needing more of the other. And actually he felt like dying in this moment. Something about Seungmin’s skin against his in the water had a thrilling effect on him. 

He pulled his swim trunks down as well, but was too impatient to get completely rid of them. Therefore, they stuck at his knees. Did he care? Of course not. He was too focused on Seungmin’s overwhelmed face. 

Without being able to think any further he put his digit against Seungmin’s entrance. 

The younger’s eyes widened. Did the other want to have sex in the pool? “Wait, you’re not really …” He hissed as he felt how the other’s finger started to push in. Luckily he was still a bit loose from yesterday, but since they were in the water the friction was significantly different. 

Seungmin was definitely aroused. Still there were those thoughts whether it was safe, whether it would hurt more, whether another person could come in any second. Nevertheless, he could not stop Hyunjin since his body was screaming for touches as well. There was something about Hyunjin being so certain of his actions. It made Seungmin dizzy. 

He knew it would probably hurt more than usually, but the lust was turning his brain into mush anyway. He did not stop Hyunjin from pushing his finger inside of him. Instead he dug his fingernails into the other’s shoulders, moaning at the thought of being extremely vulnerable in this state. 

It felt weird to finger Seungmin in the water. Although Hyunjin's hand began hurting he liked it. It was different from the other times where they had sex. Usually he would go slow, letting time run just as slow. He would pepper Seungmin’s face with kisses and admiring every inch of his body. 

Now there was pure lust in his eyes. They were not laying comfortably on his bed nor did they have endless time. They would need to leave the swim hall in less than an hour and Hyunjin was extremely horny. He could not wait. And judging by Seungmin’s face the other felt pretty much the same. 

Now he was pushing two fingers in and out of the other. 

Seungmin grimaced, but did not stop Hyunjin. Still the other felt pity for him, therefore, he kissed him several times, whispering reassurances into his ear, also promising that the other could stop him anytime. 

But Seungmin did not stop him. In fact he was the one who urged Hyunjin to hurry up. 

Hyunjin added another finger and Seungmin held his breath, moaning so loud that it echoed from the walls. His lower area was practically on fire, yet he wanted more. He put his fingertips onto Hyunjin’s cheeks, touching his skin gently. However, his hands fell into the water as Hyunjin hit his sweet spot. 

Hyunjin could not wait any longer so he pulled his fingers back and turned Seungmin around to push him against the brink. 

Surprisingly Seungmin complied and bent forward, his arms on each side of his torso. He himself was overwhelmed by Hyunjin’s way of acting, but he did not despise it. 

Still there was a loving undertone as the older kissed his neck before pushing in slowly. It was a lot harder to do it in the, therefore, he went super slow. It was nearly torture for both of them. 

As soon as his hips were pressed against Seungmin’s bum, both of them sighed. 

“Shit, you feel so good,” Hyunjin complimented and rolled his hips, eliciting a moan from the younger, “You like that.” 

Instead of answering Seungmin tried to grab the tiles of the floor in front of him, seeking for some sort of support. A loud moan escaped his mouth as Hyunjin pulled out and thrusted into him. The water brimmed over as the older built up a consistent pace, making Seungmin shudder.

Hyunjin leaned over and grabbed Seungmin’s wrists, pushing in harder and harder. He pressed the younger’s hands down and licked over his wet neck before biting his shoulder. 

Seungmin arched his back and rolled his eyes. It was a shame that Hyunjin could not see his face, but the position itself made the other so submissive that it was worth it. After a while he noticed that thanks to the window he could at least get a glimpse of Seungmin’s reaction. It was not dark outside enough to see clear frames, but it was enough for him.

The tension between them was incredible. Usually there was still some sort of loving gestures. This time both of them had the simple desire to get off, to feel the other as much as possible and to act out their lust shamelessly. 

“Shit, if it was like this every time I give you lessons I’d teach you swimming every single day,” Hyunjin groaned into Seungmin’s ear. 

Seungmin whimpered and pushed back, but he was stopped as Hyunjin grabbed his hips, holding them still while fucking in and out of him. The water was splashing against their bodies, filling the hall with its sounds besides their moaning. 

Hyunjin would probably never swim here without thinking about that moment, but he could not care less. He simply drowned in the sensation of Seungmin’s clenching walls, loving the feeling of thrusting in the other. It was the first time they did not use a condom. Although both of them had tested themselves last week they had been kind of sticking to the habit of using protection. Now that Hyunjin was able to fuck the other bare he asked himself why they had not tried it earlier. He felt like he was suffocated (although he was obviously not breathing through his dick). 

“Cumming, cumming,” Seungmin gasped and whined again. 

“Wait, I want to see your face.” Hyunjin pulled out and turned Seungmin around. 

Seungmin’s face was a mess. Something about his skin and his hair being wet made Hyunjin completely wild. It was so alluring that he pressed Seungmin roughly against the brink again. 

Seungmin moaned alone at this.

“You like it when I’m rough?” Hyunjin whispered and Seungmin sulked. 

“You’re so stupi-” He got interrupted as Hyunjin pushed in again. Seungmin wrapped his legs around Hyunjin’s waist, moving against the thrusts and leaning back. Hyunjin forced him to look at him. Then he kissed him impatiently, snapping his hips harder that the water lapped against Seungmin’s face. 

Seungmin’s moans became louder. Actually, Hyunjin could not remember hearing him moan that loudly ever before. But he enjoyed it. Obviously. “So will you come without me touching you?” He scratched Seungmin’s hip bones slightly before gripping them, moving uncontrolled. His movements became sloppy and he licked over Seungmin’s neck. 

Seungmin’s whole body tensed as he came, however, he had not that much time to rest since Hyunjin was not finished.   
Seungmin supported his lower arms on the brink while Hyunjin was licking over his nipples, sucking at them while still moving pretty harshly. From time to time Seungmin moaned, shivering from being oversensitive. He made some choked sounds since Hyunjin had still no come to an end.

“Hyunjin, hurry.” 

The other saw that as an invitation and spreaded Seungmin’s legs to bridge the last distance between them. He pressed his body against Seungmin’s and circled his hips, hitting the sweet spot again and again. 

… "Oh my god, fuck, ah."

With a last sharp thrust he came inside of Seungmin, pushing him even harder against the brink and robbing the last air out of Seungmin’s throat. 

Seungmin whimpered. “I didn’t allow you to come inside!” 

Hyunjin however simply chuckled and kissed Seungmin. “We can clean that easily.” He pulled out and massaged Seungmin’s shoulders. 

“You’re so stupid!” Seungmin punched him against his arm and pulled himself out of the pool. He walked to the sun lounger, but his knees were shaking. 

Hyunjin followed him and watched Seungmin bending over to get his towel. At the same time the sperm flooded out of the younger, trailing down his legs. And something about the sight was arousing. 

Hyunjin stepped behind of him and kissed between his shoulder blades before pushing his fingers inside again.

Seungmin gasped in surprise. “Hyunjin, what are you doing?!” 

“I want another round,” he confessed and pushed Seungmin onto the sun lounger.

“You cannot be serious,” Seungmin huffed. He was laying on the side as Hyunjin pushed his leg up to hover it over his shoulder.

“Hyunjin, there’s still a _window._ ” 

Hyunjin was quite aware of that, however, it did not take him much thinking to push inside of Seungmin again. 

Seungmin was clearly lost for words. It was rare to see Hyunijn so eager. Of course the other was passionate, but usually he held back, fearing that the other would be annoyed. The kind of security was overtaxing, but for some reason Seungmin liked it _a lot_. 

Therefore, they fucked on the sun lounger. Hyunjin had incredible stamina as Seungmin had to realize. And he was obviously in a rougher mood today. The sun lounger was shaking due to the sharp and hard thrusts of the older.

He held Seungmin’s thigh and his hip, pushing him down as Seungmin was clutching onto the arm rest. He could not stop moaning lewdly and for the first time he did not care how loud he was.

Hyunjin loved the honest reactions and wanted to drive the other as crazy as possible. He came another time inside after Seungmin had ejaculated. 

They laid there, trying to catch their breath. 

“Fuck, I’ve never thought I would have sex here,” Hyunjin murmured, now at least a little bit embarrassed. He was still inside of Seungmin, enjoying the warmth. He leaned forward and kissed the younger’s collarbones. 

"You happy now?", Seungmin grumbled and sighed loudly. 

"Yeah." Hyunjin nuzzled his nose into the crook of Seungmin's neck. The gesture was so pure, although he was still refusing to pull out. 

"You're unbelievable." Seungmin flicked against Hyunjin's temple and arched his back. "Let's shower already. I feel gross."

So they went to the shower where the first priority was to clean Seungmin. It was actually pretty hard to get all the sperm out of him since Hyunjin had come a lot. “Oh yeah it’ll be so easy to clean it,” Seungmin imitated Hyunjin in a whiny voice. 

Hyunjin giggled. “Sorry, maybe that was only a tactic so I can still come inside of you.” 

“Stop making it sound so casually.” Seungmin hit his chest and washed his hair. After he had finished he washed Hyunjin’s hair as well and kissed his mouth from time to time. 

Hyunjin liked being kissed by Seungmin. He himself was more the passionate kisser, but he loved how tender Seungmin was. His movements were so soft and smooth that it had something hypnotizing. Every time he felt the other’s lips against his he sensed the goosebumps all over his body. 

He washed Seungmin’s body, his hands wandering over the narrow torso, cleaning it carefully. His lips stuck to Seungmin’s neck and he sucked at the skin from time to time. After a while he pressed the younger against the wall, still busy with kissing every inch. 

Seungmin let him do as he pleased and brushed through Hyunjin’s hair. 

They finished showering and entered the changing room again. Hyunjin was faster with changing clothes, therefore, he observed Seungmin, who packed his bag before grabbing his t-shirt. “What are you looking at?” he asked as he turned around. 

“At you. Obviously.” Hyunjin smiled lightly. Then his face became a little bit serious. “I’m sorry that I was rough.” 

Seungmin shrugged. “If I had hated it I would have said something.” He shouldered his bag and walked towards Hyunjin. He pressed his lips onto the other’s. The kiss was not exactly passionate, but it was firm. “I thought you were the vanilla type,” he confessed and grinned, “But if you want to, we can try out more.” 

And Hyunjin really asked himself how in the world he deserved this person. 

  
  



	9. Step 9 - explaining and failing

The sight was mesmerizing. 

It had taken Seungmin several years to realize the beauty of his own home. He was still afraid, he was still upset about his mother's death and he was still sceptical because of the choice his father had made. He was such a romantic idiot.

Seungmin smiled lightly. Somehow he found it good. The way he lived was painful and beautiful. He could never forget about the incident which was responsible for his fear of the water. But he did not want to forget it anyway. 

He leaned against the brink and stared into the blue. There were little waves, gently brushing against the ship. It had a very peaceful effect on him. 

Maybe he liked the view because of Hyunjin. The older could never get sick of it. And the way he loved the water made Seungmin at least more tolerant too. 

Love was strange. Seungmin knew that. And sometimes he felt naive when he thought about his confession, his initiative for their first kiss, his will to give everything to Hyunjin. It was a paradoxon since he usually kept distance to avoid disappointments. However, it was so hard to resist. And although Seungmin was frightened, he did not like the thought of mistrusting Hyunjin. Nobody deserved that. And Seungmin had always been secure with his decisions. 

Nevertheless, he could not ignore the weird feeling in his gut, expecting that something bad would happen soon. 

The sight was still mesmerizing. 

* * *

"Minho, we have to talk." 

Hyunjin was sitting on his swivel chair, facing Minho. He had invited the older - which was not that odd - but the tone of his voice revealed that he had other intentions than just gaming or relaxing. 

Minho made himself comfortable on Hyunjin's bed and raised his eyebrows. "Sounds serious." 

Oh, it was serious. It was serious enough to make Hyunjin's heart beat so wildly in his chest that it hurt. He had barely slept last night, too afraid of the conversation. Although he knew that Minho was a good person, he was nervous. This was the first time he would openly confess to another person that he was definitely and undeniably in love with Seungmin. And as stupid as it sounded, the bet had become so much more than a game. It was a burden and a blessing because it was the reason why Hyunjin and Seungmin had gotten closer. But now it was time to get rid of it. 

At the same time Yeji passed Hyunjin's door. She had taken some food from the kitchen to eat it in her room. A call with Lia was planned since the other girl had to whine about her solo in choir (Mrs. Ahn was too tough). 

She stopped as she heard Seungmin's name. At least she thought that it had been Seungmin's name. Normally she would never eavesdrop since it would be against the Hwang twin code, but she had a weird sensation which was tingling in her neck. It was difficult to describe, however, she had the urge to stop and to make sure that Minho and Hyunjin were  _ not _ talking about her baseball colleague (who sadly was suspended from training). 

"Yeah, see, the bet …" 

"You cannot fulfill it, right?" 

"No, actually, that's not the problem." 

Yeji became attentive. A bet? That did not sound like Hyunjin. Usually he was not interested in bets at all. Those were stupid little games for him.

"Seungmin said that he loved me." 

"What? When?"

"I don't know, it's already been a while."

She held her breath and pressed her ear closer against the wood. The food in her hands was completely forgotten by now. 

"And I … I panicked. I returned the confession. And gosh, it's such a mess. We kissed and-" 

"Wait, you guys kissed?!" Minho's voice was pretty loud. 

"Shush, yeah. Don't yell." A pause. "Actually we kissed several times before that confession. And … we kind of got off to each other too and-" 

Yeji's cheeks were red as fire. She knew how close Seungmin and Hyunjin had become, but she had never guessed that they had  _ this _ kind of relationship. 

"Whoa, with that you blew the conditions of the bet." Minho seemed flustered, but also amused. "But … isn't that playing with his feelings?" 

Yeji's chest got tight. Yeah, was it not playing with Seungmin's feelings? She became dizzy, incapable of understanding the information she was given. Was there any possibility that her own brother betrayed Seungmin? For what? 

She gulped. Maybe the sponsorship? It would make sense since Hyunjin had been also interested in Seungmin's strengths. Slowly she closed her eyes and kept listening. 

"Probably. It feels weird. We have regularly sex and each time I feel more sick." 

She backed off and put her hand onto her mouth. In front of her inner eye she saw Seungmin. The sweet and calm guy of her baseball team, who loved the sport more than anything else. And now it was crystal clear why he had been so distracted. It was because of Hyunjin. 

She sneaked into her room, afraid of getting caught. Although she was extremely confused, she knew that she had to tell Seungmin. 

Minho leaned against the wall. "Sex? Wow, I was just joking and you actually …" 

"Yeah," Hyunjin interrupted, "Because … I … I …" He sighed and turned his head away. "I love him too." 

Silence. 

Minho blinked a few times. "For real?" 

Hyunjin nodded. "Yeah, and that's the reason why I want to blow off this bet." He chewed his lower lip. "Sorry for not telling you earlier." 

Suddenly there was a light laugh. 

Hyunjin frowned and looked at Minho, who could not stop laughing. 

"Why are you apologizing?" Minho asked, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, "This is just so crazy. I don't know what to say." He stood up and went to Hyunjin. Gently he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, this was meant to be fun.  _ I _ should be sorry. I didn't know that this was so stressful for you. Of course we can stop the bet." He winked at him. "Although you've already won." And again, he had to laugh. "Seungmin's cute. Not my type, but I see why you're obsessed with him. You should definitely talk to him. It would be a waste if you two didn't come out as an official thing." 

Hyunjin got up as well and hugged Minho tightly. "Thank you so much, Hyung."

  
  
  
  


The next day was weird. It was not special that Hyunjin had no chance to talk to Seungmin - they were in completely different classes - but he had the assumption that the other tried to avoid him. It triggered a kind of panic. He did not exactly know why he was that paranoid, but he could not get rid of this feeling. 

At the end of the school day he was finally lucky enough to discover Seungmin. He yelled his name, but was ignored. Maybe the other had not heard him. 

He followed him easily, although the students swept in a big mob over the schoolyard. Nevertheless, Hyunjin knew where Seungmin's way led. Shortly afterwards he was able to catch up. 

"Hey!" he gasped, longing for air because he had been running, too happy to see his pup. 

"What do you want from me?" Seungmin did not even look at him. 

Okay, that was strange. 

"I wanted to talk to you." Since it was time. It was finally time to reveal the truth. Hyunjin had been so afraid of this moment, frightened because of the possibility that he could drown any second in lies and more lies which kept swirling around uncontrollably. He needed to end this chaos inside of him. 

Seungmin lifted his chin and shrugged an eyebrow. "Wow,  _ now  _ you want to talk?" 

Hyunjin froze and stared at him, perplexed. The gears were turning around in his head, trying to puzzle the situation together. He already had the premonition about what those words meant. But how was that possible? Minho and Changbin were the only ones who knew about the bet. There was no way that Seungmin had found out. 

All those thoughts flushed past him very quickly, causing some kind of sickness.

"What are you looking at me for?" Seungmin hissed. His hands were clutching on the string of his school bag around his shoulder. His eyes were indeed empty. For the first time of his life he did not let Hyunjin see what kind of storm was destroying his inner self. 

"Seungmin," Hyunjin tried to calm him down, but his voice was an octave too high, too squeaky like a rusty door. 

"Don't … say my name like that." Seungmin pressed his lips together and closed his eyes as he had trouble to hold his anger back. "I should have known ... I should have really known that this was just a stupid little game of yours. You're completely sick. You're sicker than that lunatic painter who keeps smashing canvas on other people's heads to get attention for his broken psyche." He laughed. It sounded bitter like dark, untasty chocolate. 

"And you know what? I was wondering why you kept me like your little dog, although you've already won the  _ b-e-t _ ." 

To hear this word out of Seungmin's mouth was incredibly cruel. The way he stressed every little letter with his spiky tongue made it seem like the definition of betrayal. And that was probably not too far away from reality. 

Hyunjin was completely lost for words. In his imagination he was kneeling down, begging for pity, reassuring that his feelings were real. His body did not react at all. He felt like a lifeless doll, which deserved to be kicked away into the sea to sink on the ground and to be ostracized forever. 

"And then it was so clear. It was so clear!" Luckily they were alone or else everyone would have been wondering why the calm Kim Seungmin was shouting. The sight was so strange. "You hurt me. Not only mentally, but physically." Seungmin chuckled before the corners of his mouth dropped. "But it was okay for me that it hurt. Because it was with you. I was  _ so  _ sure that this was the right decision." He looked Hyunjin straight up into the face. "I thought it was right to trust somebody." A pause. "But you've let me drown." 

Hyunjin was drowning too. That was still no excuse. He had to say something. "That's a misunderstanding. Seungmin, I do lo-" 

"Don't say that!" Seungmin backed off and twisted his fingers in the fabric of his shirt. 

"But, it's the truth!" Hyunjin argued. He was desperate and he needed to fix this. Immediately. Why had he not done it earlier? He was the biggest jerk ever. 

"No! It's not!" Seungmin exhaled audible and ruffled his own hair. 

"Please, let me explain." Hyunjin just kept stammering and was searching for the right words. He had read so many books, but now he felt like he had the thesaurus of a five year old. He was completely helpless. "Seungmin, I love you," he repeated. 

Seungmin stepped forward and put his hand on Hyunjin's cheek. "I love you too." He leaned forward and kissed Hyunjin's mouth lightly. 

But then he slapped his hand across the other's whole face, causing his nose to bleed. "But the difference between us is that I don't lie. Ever." 

It hurt. Hyunjin's face hurt. But it hurt not as much as the aching pain in his chest. 

"Stay away from me, Hwang. Or you'll regret it." 

And as Seungmin walked away Hyunjin did not stop him. 

* * *

Hyunjin had been staring at his homework for half an hour. His head was empty. Every thought was useless. There were still several questions, but he had no access to answers. 

He sighed and put his pen down to lean back. This kind of scenario happened in dramas he liked to watch. Usually he would scream at his screen since the solution seemed so simple. But real life was not. 

There was no way he could ever find someone like Seungmin again. His heart was not broken. It was burned to ash, leaving nothing but soot and dust. 

He blinked to stop his tears from streaming down his cheeks. No, he had no right to cry. It was his fault. Seungmin was the only one who was allowed to cry in this situation. Although it made Hyunjin pull his own hair. He was responsible by giving Seungmin a reason to cry. 

He tried it once more. At least some tasks should be possible. Still, his tightening chest was too painful. He could not concentrate at all. There were thousands of if-scenarios in his head. 

If he had been honest from the start. 

If he had solved this bet problem sooner. 

If he had been the kind of person he wanted to be for Seungmin. 

He groaned and buried his face in his hands, supporting his elbows on the hard tabletop, causing friction against his bare skin. He wished that Seungmin would at least believe that Hyunjin loved him. But of course he asked too much with that. 

There was a soft knock on his door. He turned his head around and saw Yeji standing between the frames. She had her arms crossed, her mouth looked like it would disappear with the way she pressed her lips together. Clear signs that she had to discuss something serious with him. 

"Not now," Hyunjin mumbled and had trouble with holding back his tears. 

"I know why you look so miserable." She entered the room without asking for permission. Another sign of her strong urge to talk with him. Slowly she sat down on his bed. "And I'm very disappointed in you." 

Hyunjin was confused until he realized what her words meant. "You know about it too?" 

Yeji frowned and folded her hands in her lap, her fingers locking reluctantly as she wanted to have more time to think about her next sentences. She breathed aloud and shuffled her feet over the floor. The sound was ugly. "I'm the reason why Seungmin knows the truth. Finally." 

Hyunjin had to process those words. It did not take him long to put the pieces together. "You were eavesdropping." 

"I had no choice. You betrayed one of my members by lying and taking advantage of their feelings." Yeji's expression was hurt. "And you slept with him." Her voice sounded hoarse. "Hyunjin, he's so young." 

"I'm too," Hyunjin defended himself, "And I have feelings as well." 

"That's no excuse."

"I didn't try to make one. It's just an explanation." Hyunjin was about to get a very heavy headache. He assumed that his sister was misunderstanding the situation as well. She had probably not heard the full conversation or else she would have refrained from telling Seungmin. Somehow he was too tired to wrap his words around the whole disaster. He simply wanted to sleep. Ideally next to Seungmin. 

"It was never my intention to hurt him. Because he means a lot to me." 

"As a friend?" 

Hyunjin sighed and turned around, so he would not have to look at his twin any longer. "No," he whispered, "He is everything to me, but not a friend." And strangely he was able to pick up his pen to write something down. The answers were surely wrong, but it was okay as long as he seemed busy. 

"It was wrong of you to lie." 

"I wanted to tell him. But you were faster."

"He's been suffering for too long." 

And she was right about that. Hyunjin was not even a tad mad at her. After all he deserved it. 

_ He deserved to be rejected. He deserved to be punished. He deserved his nose being punched. He deserved to be heartbroken. He deserved ... _

"Is that blood?" Yeji asked, looking at his white shirt which had some red stains on it. 

"Yeah," Hyunjin replied, "Seungmin slapped me."

"Deserved."

_ … every single blow of pain in his gut. _

"I know." 

Out of nowhere Yeji snapped. She stood up, grabbed Hyunjin's shoulders and turned him around. That she had ruined his homework by ripping the paper did not matter at all. "What's wrong with you?! My brother would never hurt someone else!" she yelled, "Is that sponsorship so important to you?!"

Now Hyunjin's face became red as anger  _ finally  _ bubbled in his stomach. "It's not about the sponsorship! I don't care about the money! I care about Seungmin!" 

"Then  _ why  _ are you still sitting here?! Prove that he's important to you!"

"I don't know how!" And then Hyunjin was crying. There was no way he could avoid it. To fight with his sister had been the last trigger for an outburst. 

Yeji let go off his shoulders to reach out for his face. 

Hyunjin automatically shivered since he thought that he would be punched for another time. But his sister brushed off his tears with her finger tips.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled," she whispered, "But … what you did was wrong." 

Hyunjin nodded. 

"Please fix that. Promise me." 

Hyunjin gulped and looked into her eyes. "I promise." 

* * *

The evaluation for the sponsorship would be tomorrow and Hyunjin was still on the verge of vomiting. He had been working on a plan, but he was damn sure that this was the most stupid strategy the world had ever seen. Still, there was no other way. Furthermore, he had nothing to lose anymore. 

He was sitting in a cafe, waiting for Minho and Changbin. He simply had to talk about his ideas and maybe ask for support, although he knew that the others would call him nuts. And no matter what they said he was sure of implementing his plan. With or without their help.

"You gotta be kidding me," Minho claimed, his eyes widening, "Hyunjin, I get that this situation is tricky, but dude. That's crazy."

Changbin remained silent so Hyunjin just continued talking. 

"But I have to do it. There's no reason to stay." 

Minho sighed. "It's completely unfair. You were about to tell him the truth. But Yeji just had to-" 

"No, my sister had every right to do it. She wanted to protect Seungmin. And she feels sorry already," Hyunjin defended his twin, "It's my fault. So it's my task to fix it." 

Minho had a serious look on his face. Apparently, he needed some seconds to think about those words. "No, Hyunjin.  _ We  _ will fix it. Together." He reached out to grab his hand. "It's not only your fault. It's our fault." 

"Not mine tho," Changbin intervened and smiled reassuringly, "But you know what, I think you're brave." 

"I am?" 

"Yeah. I could never sacrifice so much." He took a sip of his tea. "I think that it's the right decision as long as you're comfortable with it." 

Hyunjin was not exactly comfortable, but he appreciated those words. This kind of support definitely helped him to stick to his decision. 

"That boy's in love, what would you expect?" Minho teased and giggled. Then he cleared his throat. "There's still a big obstacle." A pause for dramatic purposes. "Chan. He'll kill you." 

"Of course he will," Hyunjin confirmed, "That's kind of the goal." 

"Risking your life to make Seungmin forgive you?" Minho lifted his eyebrow. 

"It's not about him forgiving me rather than a proper apology. If he doesn't want to be with me it'll be okay as long as he knows about my feelings," Hyunjin mumbled. He was still frightened, but he already felt better about himself. 

"Okay, I guess then it's settled," Minho said, "I'll help you to organize the other steps of the plan." He turned around to Changbin. "You should help him with the letter." 

"Why me?" Changbin hissed. 

"You write music." 

"Yeah, but I'm a rapper!" Changbin argued and drank another sip, now with a somewhat embarrassed expression on his face. 

"Yeah, but you're also  _ romantic _ ," Minho purred and wiggled his eyebrows. "Come on. Or else I'll tell Felix that you want to count his freckles because they're  _ cute _ ." He pronounced the last word with an extremely mocking tone by puckering his lips, making it seem like he had eaten a lemon. Or maybe he was trying to imitate the motion of kissing (but air was probably not a good partner for that).

"Bruh, that's so disgusting of you." Changbin seemed like he was about to throw his hands at him. "But fine, I'll help. Not because of your blackmailing, but because for the fucking sake of love or whatever."

Minho grinned. "Great, so you help with the writing, and I'll try to contact Jisung and Jeongin. But thanks to Felix this should be no problem."

* * *

"Chan, calm down." 

"I am calm." 

One would say that Chan was saying the truth. But Woojin knew him better. He could tell by the way Chan's hands trembled lightly as soon as he spoke that he was not as calm as he claimed. 

Woojin was sitting on his bed, rustling with the paper of his folder. He still had to practice his solo pieces, but he did not feel like it. Instead he was watching how his boyfriend was adjusting the training plan for tomorrow, although it was already perfect (of course Chan would  _ never _ call it perfect - he was too ambitious and humble for that). 

Woojin put his folder aside and patted on his lap. "Come here, jiggly jelly." 

"Don't sue me for being nervous."

Woojin giggled. "I would never do that." His undertone was teasing. He rarely seemed like the bickering type, but in fact his nature was not only meek and quiet. He could be pretty witty as well. "You're ready, Chan. There's no use in making yourself crazy."

Chan tensed. Ultimately he acknowledged the truth behind those words and sat next to Woojin (sitting on his lap would be like giving in).

"It's just that people count on me," he murmured, "I don't really care about the money." 

"You care about making others happy." 

No answer was also an answer. Chan sighed and leaned against Woojin's shoulder, finally relaxing a bit. 

"Maybe a massage can help?" 

Chan seemed to consider this offer before nodding slightly. He pulled his shirt over his head and laid down on his stomach. Sensing Woojin's warm fingers on his back was a bliss. He sank into the feeling and closed his eyes. 

Woojin was always mesmerized that everything about Chan was so fucking smooth. Since it was easier for swimming Chan shaved everywhere to keep the resistance to a minimum. Woojin would never say it since he knew that the other got rid of his hair for practical purposes, but he adored the flawless surface. Moreover, he loved the feeling of Chan's muscular yet soft back. He loved that the other was strong and tender at the same time. 

"Do you know whether Hyunjin could impress the mysterious person he massaged?" Chan suddenly asked. 

"I hope so." Woojin winked, although Chan could not see it. He was busy with pressing his fingers in circle motions into the skin when Chan started running music through a jukebox. 

"I mean nobody can resist good massages." He backed off, and Chan turned around. 

"True." He smiled. "I'm lucky to have such a skilled boyfriend." 

Woojin rolled his eyes jokingly and hovered above him to peck his lips. Then he noticed the stressed look on Chan's face. He grumbled and flicked his fingers against the other's forehead. "Are you still thinking about the sponsorship?"

Chan was kind of embarrassed and grinned sheepishly. "Nooo, as if." He caressed Woojin's chest. "I've been thinking about the possibility to suck you off?" He licked his lips teasingly because he knew that this kind of distraction always worked.

Woojin supressed a laughter. Why was it always so hard to be mad at Chan? "Oh, sweetheart. That's not such a bad idea," he replied, his hand being already busy with opening his own belt. 

Then out of a sudden Chan's smartphone rang. 

Chan sighed and kissed Woojin's half-opened mouth. "Give me a sec." He grabbed the noisy device and picked up the call. "Hello? Hyunjin?" He started frowning. There was a short discussion before he hung up. 

"Is something wrong?" Woojin asked worriedly. 

Chan chewed on his bottom lip as he dressed up. "I don't know." He brushed through his hair, having a confused yet serious expression.

"Hyunjin said that we needed to talk." 


	10. Step 10 - forgiving and believing

_"Hyunjin, that's not a good time for joking." Chan's face was dead serious and that was hella frightening. Usually he always had a sweet undertone, soft or mild details of expressions, making him not too harsh or rough. That was why Hyunjin had never felt so scolded like that before._

_"It isn’t a joke," he tried to say with a stable voice, "I want to resign."_

_"You have no reason to." It was visible that Chan wanted to hide his anger, probably because he did not intend to judge Hyunjin immediately. "You're one of our best swimmers."_

_"Sometimes there are more important things than winning."_

_Now Chan frowned. "Do you have something specific in mind?"_

_A light smile appeared on Hyunjin's face. "I do."_

The memory flushed past Hyunjin as he pushed the letter through the slit into Seungmin's locker. He had expected to suffer the torture of his life. After all, Chan was a tough captain. 

But who could stop Hyunjin in his current state of mind?

* * *

  
• • • • • • ~ ʚĭɞ ~ • • • • • •

_Dear Seungmin,_

_I have no right to say_

_That you should trust me again._

_I know this act of betray_

_Caused you genuinely a lot of pain._

_Still I want you to know_

_how I have never ever lied_

_when it came to my heart._

_Because right from the start_

_I was blown away and I tried_

_to come closer and to show_

_How well we match together_

_And that we could talk forever_

_about books, sports or whatever._

_The bet was a mistake_

_A stupid game, I was a fool._

_I do think that you're great_

_Please don't think that you're a tool._

_I miss you and us_

_because that is real._

_And if it is about trust_

_Then I have to deal_

_with what I want, and that is you_

_I still hope that you miss me too._

_I am sorry and that is not a saying_

_Actually, I would do every praying_

_in the world to tell once and for all_

_How I will hopelessly fall and fall_

_For you._

_Every day._

_Hyunjin_

• • • • • • ~ ʚĭɞ ~ • • • • • •  
  


Seungmin was staring at the text for a whole while before tossing it into the next bin. The poem _did_ some things to his heart, however, he was great at ignoring them. 

Or actually not. He felt like crying. Yeah, there was this painful burning on the surface of his eyes, announcing the salty water.

He blinked several times, hoping that he could push that feeling away. There was no use in crying. He had cried too much already. For now he had to seem normal. Nobody should know about his broken heart, because it was ridiculous. _He_ was ridiculous. After all he was Kim Seungmin, and Kim Seungmin was not known for shedding one single tear for a person (with exception for his mother). 

Of course he could not deny that he felt way too much for Hyunjin. Still, he saw himself as pathetic. It was hard to bury all of his emotions. He would love to be a stone, but sadly his tight throat, his sweating hands and his shivering knees told him that he was human.

Fucking bullshit. 

He closed his eyes for a few seconds and thought about the poem. Those words had been extremely sweet. Nevertheless, he sensed some sort of manipulation. Not forcing forgiveness to reach exactly that. Additionally, he had not known that Hyunjin was that good at writing. He had probably received help. So how were those words supposed to be oh so honest? 

Seungmin's nostrils widened as he had to suppress his anger. Gosh, why was he in love with such an idiot? An idiot who was smart and handsome and funny and-

He shook his head. No, he was definitely not allowed to think like that about the person who had used him for a sponsorship. And for sexual matters. 

Sighing, he entered the classroom and went to his seat, still clouded by his thoughts. Then he noticed all those packages on his table. He frowned and took some of them. Reluctantly he ripped the packages open. 

There were a lot of books and sweets. Not even a note was there. The crinkle on his forehead deepened as he x-rayed the covers, just to recognize the book titles. Some works were from his favourite authors. And the most important fact was that he had none of those books. They were hard to get plus not exactly cheap. Hardcover books were especially expensive. 

He bit his lower lip.

And those sweets were his favourites. Chocolate he liked, the gums he liked, the chips he liked. Things he had told Hyunjin. 

Things which Hyunjin remembered.

Seungmin's heart was pounding crazily in his chest, because he realized that the other had listened attentively to every single conversation they had. Seungmin had dropped those little, meaningless details about him and Hyunjin remembered every single one. 

Now it was indeed tough to hide those stupid tears. He was extremely flustered. Why had Hyunjin not apologized personally? Why was he such a coward? And why did Seungmin hope that he loved him back? 

The students began whispering since it was of course odd to find practically a mountain of gifts on Seungmin's seat. 

Seungmin sorted them and found another book. It was the book with the signature Hyunjin had gotten for him at the lecture. The book which Seungmin had to leave at the cafe. The memory was fuzzy, but still important enough to raise Seungmin's pulse. 

He opened it and found a piece of paper. 

_Can you sign for my boyfriend?_

A single tear was formed in the corner of his eye, but he brushed it away. "Stupid," he mumbled and closed the book. 

"Wow, that's a lot of presents!" somebody exclaimed. 

It was Jisung, who was now busy with inspecting the packages. Somehow there was something very weird about him. Like he needed to check the gifts. He did not seem too surprised. Rather simply interested. 

"Hands off," Seungmin demanded and packed everything away before the teacher came into the classroom. 

During the whole lesson Seungmin was distracted by his thoughts. Questions and even more questions kept appearing in his head. Was there a possibility that Hyunjin did have feelings for him? Or was it just because of sex? 

He groaned quietly and stared at the blackboard, trying to figure out what the tasks were. No chance. His whole mind was occupied by Hyunjin. 

This must have been a witty strategy to fool Seungmin once again. Hyunjin surely wanted to keep him away from the sponsorship. The sponsorship was the reason for everything. Money made people blind. Money and love. 

Seungmin was relieved when the bell rang. He would just shoulder his bag and flee into the next classroom. 

The other students were still gossiping. Obviously since it was not exactly ordinary to receive so many presents on a normal school day. Even for valentines day it would have been weird. Perhaps this whole action was only there to embarrass Seungmin. 

Suddenly a student gasped as they looked out of the window. "Look at that!" 

Immediately the biggest part of the class was gazing through the glass, trying to get a glimpse of the spectacular scene out there. 

Usually Seungmin would ignore that kind of behaviour, but today was already awkward. Hence he decided to take a short look. However, he regretted it as he saw the big picture painted with chalk on the asphalt. 

**_I AM SORRY_ **

**_I AM SORRY_ **

**_I AM SORRY_ **

Around those words there were endless flowers and hearts. They were dancing around those elegantly written words, making them bloom and sparkle out of pureness. A total cliche and super romantic. It made Seungmin's gut twist in an unpleasant way. Although his heart was cheering out of joy, he felt sick. 

Why was Hyunjin so eager to humiliate him? Furthermore, he did not understand why he would make such an effort for all those actions. Sadly, they were very creative and Seungmin felt how he softened at the thought of Hyunjin kneeling there, probably missing classes to draw this huge apology picture on the streets for him. 

_The_ Hwang Hyunjin who made his pants dirty just to please him. 

Shit, Seungmin was way too whipped. He had to get his feelings under control again. 

He decided that he had to go away or else he would cry in an instant. 

The next break another nightmare was waiting for him because there was a racket, leaning against his locker. Seriously, it was starting to get creepy. Moreover, he was confused because he already had a new racket.

As he came closer he noticed that it was plastered by signs and stickers. He took it and rolled it in his hands. 

Those were stickers with symbols of modern novels he liked: Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent and more. The words were written by hand, a little bit messy, but Seungmin could tell soon that those were quotes from those books. 

His fingers traced along the wood. The whole racket was decorated. It was wild, but also colourful and somehow passionate. Passionate about reading and sports. He remembered Hyunjin's words in the swim hall. 

_“You don’t have to sacrifice your achievements to be with me."_

Had those words been honest? 

If so, then Hyunjin's apology might be true. Maybe the bet had started because it should be a stupid little game. But over the time Hyunjin had probably developed feelings and now - 

Seungmin shook his head. No. The poem was correct. Hyunjin had absolutely no right to expect one more chance. 

But the racket was indeed a sweet gift. Seungmin had a warm feeling by looking at it. It would feel wrong to throw it away. After all, he had taken a lot of time, putting all his knowledge about Seungmin on the wood. Although he was still an idiot, he was an idiot who apologized. Not personally, but still. Seungmin wanted to be resistant and not an asshole. Therefore, he kept the racket.

"Wow, that's cool!" Felix commented in the big break. 

"Yeah …," Seungmin murmured, somewhat embarrassed. He should have hidden the present. The racket was weirdly heavy in his hands now.

"I also like it." Jeongin smiled lightly. Okay, now it was getting really awkward. Normally Jeongin would make some savage comments, trying to mock his Hyung. This time his eyes were nearly gentle. As he was happy about the present.

Seungmin had some kind of prediction, but he himself could not tell about what. 

"Where's Jisung?" he eventually asked. It was weird that the other was absent. Usually they spent the breaks together as a group. 

Felix and Jeongin exchanged brief eye contact before smiling at Seungmin "innocently", although it was obvious that both of them knew what was going on. And Seungmin was about to sue them for this kind of secrecy since they knew how much he actually hated surprises. 

Suddenly there were a few chords coming from a guitar. The soft notes filled the auditorium, and some students even stopped talking to find out where the music was coming from. 

Jisung was sitting on a chair, having the acoustic instrument placed on his thigh. He was too focused on the strings to even notice the glances of the others (which was probably not too bad because of his social anxiety - that was why music was so effective on him: It made him forget his surroundings).

Right next to him was Hyunjin, who played with his tie out of nervousness. He took a deep breath and looked at Jisung. 

The younger boy lifted his head and nodded. Then he started counting and played a soft melody which sounded very familiar in Seungmin's ears. 

Before Jisung started to strum the first chords he noticed the song. It was _My Day_ from Day6. His favourite band. 

Once he had told Hyunjin about how he wanted to go to a concert. So seeing the other standing there was kind of ironic, because that was not how he had been picturing his "first Day6 concert”. 

And then Hyunjin started actually singing. His voice was breathy and shaky, and his hands kept fumbling with the hem of his shirt. He looked at Seungmin from time to time, but mostly he tried to concentrate on an invisible point. Normally one would never see Hwang Hyunjin like this. In public he was composed and elegant to keep distance. Only in private circles he showed his other sides. How goofy he was, how loud he was, how dramatic he was. Now he seemed nearly fragile, trying to sing this song which was probably pretty much out of his range. He was not an amazing singer. 

Still, Seungmin was addicted to listening to him. Hyunjin's voice was soft and gentle, making every syllable sound lovely. He created round and tender notes with the way he opened and closed his mouth. And most importantly: He was singing for Seungmin. And only for him. Although the whole auditorium was watching him, everyone appeared to know that the song was dedicated to a certain person. And that thought made Seungmin's heart flutter vigorously.

Hyunjin ended and nodded towards Jisung, who smiled back. Then he looked at Seungmin. 

Suddenly Seungmin was ashamed without knowing why. Maybe it was because one could realize that the song with that tale telling title had been sung for him. And it had been their priority to keep their relationship (if there was still one) a secret. 

"Wow, maybe Hyunjin wants to join the choir now," he heard someone saying, "I mean, after having left the swimming team, this might be a nice option." The tone was mocking and Seungmin would take the time to be angry about it since he thought that Hyunjin had sung the song well. It was not always about hitting the tones 100 percent rather than conveying the atmosphere and the message of the song. And as a passionate MyDay he knew the essence of their music to tell whether one could portray their stories respectfully. That was what frightened him, because Hyunjin had sounded way too honest. 

However, Seungmin's problem with that statement was the information he had received through it.

 _Hyunjin had left the swimming team_.

Immediately he turned around, trying to find the person who said that. It had been a girl from his year. He could not quite remember her name, but he did not care either. Quickly he approached her and bowed slightly to appear somehow polite. "Excuse me, what did you say?" 

"Oh, Seungmin." The girl had a weird expression. Before he had been the ace, the star of the baseball team. Being excluded from training would have been kind of humiliating, but as if Seungmin would care. For now he cared about fucking Hyunjin with his fucking annoying actions he received even help from his friends for. 

The girl brushed some hair strands out of her petite face. "Hyunjin left the swimming team. The announcement isn't official yet, but some students heard Chan talking about it with the P.E teacher who's responsible for the club." She seemed a little bit cold, but the slight curve of her lips revealed how she bathed in the gossip. She probably felt like an undercover agent, capable of devouring everyone's status at school easily. 

Again, Seungmin bowed. "Thanks for telling me." 

"Oh, for the baseball team's ace any time." She winked. 

Seungmin turned around to look for Hyunjin who was talking to Minho and Changbin. 

What was that supposed to mean? Seungmin was furious. He was no fool and he definitely did not have the capacity to watch Hyunjin doing bullshit. 

He stepped towards Hyunjin and grabbed his shoulder harshly. 

The older boy was obviously surprised. Apparently, he had never expected to be approached. Unfortunately, Seungmin not only hated surprises but he also hated playing along dumb games. The bet had been enough already. 

"We have to talk. _Now."_

"But-" 

"Shut up, Hwang, or else I'll break your nose. This time for real." 

Minho whistled appreciatively, impressed by Seungmin's dominance. 

Hyunjin complied and followed Seungmin around the corner to the lockers, so that they could have some private space. 

"What the hell?!" Seungmin started, "What are you doing?!" 

"Didn't you like the song? I wasn't sure which one to pick …" 

"It's not about that song, stupid!" Seungmin hit his palms on Hyunjin's chest, making the other shiver under the contact. "Why are you not in the swimming team anymore?" He was about to burst like a bottle full of coca cola which had been shaken for the whole day. His face was already a bit red from anger. "Whatever game you're playing, I don't like it!" 

Hyunjin's face was tender as he touched Seungmin's shoulder lightly. However, his hand was swatted away. "That's not a game. I'm not in the team anymore, because I don't want to." 

Seungmin did not understand anything, and like this he felt defenseless. The whole situation made no sense at all. "Your team will lose if the judges learn about your resignation!" 

"Maybe. But I deserve that." 

Seungmin blinked several times and looked at the other like he was an alien, whereupon Hyunjin sighed.

"You think I spent time with you because of the bet to win the sponsorship. But that's the proof for the opposite." He shrugged. "As I said: I don't deserve to win." 

Seungmin snorted and pressed his fingernails into his palms as he formed his hands to fists. "And your team deserves to lose?" he asked provokingly. 

Hyunjin frowned. "What?" 

"If you leave the team for real, they will lose because of your egoism. Do you think that it's worth disappointing even more people?" Seungmin crossed his arms. "Just to 'prove' something? That's ridiculous." 

Hyunjin pressed his lips together. "I have no other way to apologize." His eyes darkened. "I'm desperate for you." 

The words stirred some sort of storm inside of Seungmin, but he ignored it. "You're so selfish, Hwang." Seungmin kicked him lightly. "And embarrassing. Stop giving me presents and start doing something." 

"What do you want me to do, pup?" 

The pet name made Seungmin gulp. "Make people happy. If you resign, I'll hate you forever. Sports taught us to be brave and consistent. To be there for our team. Don't give them up because of your mistake to hurt me." 

"I thought that it would make things better." 

Seungmin looked at Hyunjin directly. "It wouldn’t make me happy at all. Am I being clear?" 

Hyunjin smiled lightly. "Yeah." He held his forehead and closed his eyes, leaning his head back, just to get a few rays of sunshine through the window. He looked way too ethereal, so Seungmin leaned forward to kiss his plushy mouth quickly. 

Hyunjin gasped and looked at him with wide eyes. 

"That doesn't mean anything for now," Seungmin claimed, "Just show me that you're not a coward." 

With that being said he left. 

  
  


* * *

"After two days of evaluation we have the winner of this year's sponsorship," the director announced. He stood behind the lectern _,_ breathing too loudly into his microphone. 

Every student was gathered in the auditorium, but it was extremely silent since everyone was eager about hearing the result. 

"Thanks to all sports clubs, especially the leaders who make everything at this school possible. Like this we can keep our reputation as a colourful and vivid environment." 

"I wish he would stop making everything sound so cheesy," Jeongin whispered into Seungmin's ear. 

Seungmin had to suppress a giggle and focused on the head of the school. He had been quite angry at his friends for keeping Hyunjin's apology actions a secret. Firstly, it had felt like betrayal, but his friends had told him that they liked Hyunjin and that it seemed like he was a very genuine guy (and Jeongin had stressed very clearly that he was extremely handsome). Still, Seungmin did not know what to think. He was not particularly angry anymore. It was more like a neutral attitude. He did not even know whether Hyunjin had joined the team again. The gossip about it was very ambivalent. 

"But now, I want to congratulate the winning club," the rector _finally_ said, "Huge applause for …" 

Pure silence. 

Seungmin was convinced that his heart had decided to give a drum concert. It was beating loud enough to put pressure on his ears. He clung on his pants and held his breath.

"... the swimming team!" 

Cheering sounds, applause and yells could be heard. 

"Although there had been a few complications with some members who wanted to leave allegedly," he cleared his throat, "Everything was just a misunderstanding. So their win is definitely deserved." 

Seungmin sighed, relieved. 

"Bang Chan, please come forward to receive the cheque." 

The leader walked toward the rector, who then shook his hand, smiling and congratulating him. 

Chan said something to him before the other nodded, a little perplexed. The boy stood behind the lectern and tapped the microphone to check whether it still worked. Then he smiled into every direction before he started talking. 

"Thank you for the prize. It's always great to receive such an opportunity from our support association." He paused and still smiled. "And actually, I learn a lot during this phase of the year. We all get too focused on winning, but in the end it's not about the money. It's about doing it for the team. To cross the finish line together." 

Again, cheering sounds. Some were even shouting his name. 

Seungmin was honestly impressed. Chan seemed so natural up there and different from the rector his words were not stilted. He sounded genuinely grateful. 

"However, I guess that this kind of teamwork is not only required for my own club. I've been thinking about other leaders a lot and they have my respect. I was eager to make my members happy and proud with my guide, and I'm lucky that they not only follow me, but also support me." 

Applause. 

"Still, we had a hard competition since every sport is unique and special in its own way. Nevertheless, during the phase of preparation I noticed that we had a strong opponent with the baseball team."

Surprised gasps. 

"It was close. Real close." Chan chuckled. "I swear, I've never seen a leader who's as tough as Sungjin Seonbae _."_

Now the students had to laugh or giggle as well. The atmosphere was rather relaxed by now. 

"And since I think that money doesn't play an important role, I decided to follow the advice of my dear members." 

Everyone on the swimming team suddenly stood up. The movement had been so synchronized that Seungmin was sure that they had planned it before.

The judges from the sponsorships were obviously also confused, but they did listen attentively to Chan. 

"I don't intend to be disrespectful. But since the leader of the club who wins has the full responsibility of the money I'll decide to share it." 

The students started mumbling and kept turning their heads around. A lot of excitement filled the auditorium. 

"Since some members of the swimming team are very close with those from the baseball team, it's just more than fair to give half of the money to them. I'm also a person who's inspired by their work, and it would be wrong to keep everything, pretending that it was solely our achievement." He smiled broadly. "Sports is about sharing and caring for those who support you. And those people don't have to do the same sports as you. They have to respect and understand you. And like this we can improve together."

Now the crowd was wild, roaring and cheering again. The judges nodded, also impressed by Chan's speech. 

Seungmin's heart was pounding wildly in his chest. He was so damn moved that he had to hold back his tears. 

It felt like everything was solved now. The whole frustration about the sponsorship and the bet vanished. There was no reason to see each other as enemies anymore.

Chan had sealed their friendship. 

Happily, Sungjin came towards Chan, hugged him and together they held up the cheque, both grinning widely at the crowd of excited students. 

The swimming team searched for the members of the baseball team, so the clubs could congratulate each other. And in this hustle and bustle Seungmin could see Hyunjin's breathtaking smile. 

The older was hugging his sister tightly, probably relieved that they were on good terms again. 

Felix was cheering with Jisung.

Chaeryoung and Ryujin were laughing together.

And Seungmin was sure he had never felt so happy in his life before.

* * *

"So both the baseball team and the swimming team have won the sponsorship?" 

"Exactly." Seungmin was leaning against the brink of the boat, looking at the sky which was sprinkled with orange clouds. It looked like they kept flying over the river, ready to dip it into warm colours as soon as they would reach the horizon. 

"That's great!" 

His father was still at work, but had decided to call his son since he had remembered the announcement. He was a fool, Seungmin thought. After all, he should concentrate on his live-saving work and not his dumb sponsorship. His mother loved a fool. Seungmin could never understand her. 

"You must be very happy." 

Seungmin took a few minutes to actually ponder over that statement. Then he smiled lightly. "I am very happy, yes." He sighed, knowing that his father was relieved since he was always worried about Seungmin. 

Seungmin, who had been seeming like a stone until he had met Hyunjin. 

He wanted to say something else when he saw a weird silhouette. The sun was dazzling him, therefore, it was hard to recognize what was happening on the water. 

Then, his eyes widened. "Dad, I have to hang up." He pressed the red button and observed how Hyunjin was sailing towards him, standing on a boat. The river flowed enough to carry it without support. Hyunjin stood there with his hands full of sunflowers, smiling at Seungmin. Then he opened his mouth. 

_"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?_

_It is the east, and Seungmin is the sun._

_Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,_

_Who is already sick and pale with grief_

_That thou, his maid, art far more fair than he . . ._ "

Seungmin frowned and watched Hyunjin getting closer.

_"The brightness of his cheek would shame those stars_

_As daylight doth a lamp; his eye in heaven_

_Would through the airy region stream so bright_

_That birds would sing and think it were not night."_

Seungmin blinked and snorted. "Idiot," he mumbled. Hyunjin had actually learned a whole paragraph of Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet._

"Stupid!" he shouted, "Romeo and Juliet died at the end." 

Hyunjin's boat was about to bump against Seungmin's home, but he stopped it at the right time by putting one hand against the brink. It was too light and too small anyway to destroy anything. 

"True, but at least they were together." Hyunjin smiled and extended his hands to give Seungmin the flowers. 

They smiled at him too, glowing with such a wonderful yellow. That was why Seungmin could not resist. He took them and put them down to face Hyunjin again. "You're stupid. Did you buy the boat?" 

"It's rented. I don't have enough money to buy it." 

"Whose idea was that?"

Hyunjin chuckled. "Mine. Totally mine." That had been so obvious. 

"You should have brought roses to make it romantic," Seungmin argued. 

"But you hate them. You think that they're too cheesy." 

Slightly, Seungmin chuckled. Was he still mad at Hyunjin if he did this? Probably not. He was not sure. "Was it your idea to share the money?" he asked. 

"Not entirely mine. But I kind of gave the impulse, yes." Shyly, Hyunjin looked up. There was a quick pause before he spoke further. "Seungmin, can you forgive me?" 

The other breathed aloud and clutched his hands around the brink. Then he walked along it to reach the opening in order to look at Hyunjin properly. 

The older followed him, now standing at the edge of the boat. His eyes were hopeful.

Seungmin remembered the conversation with Yeji. How she had come to him with her eyebrows furrowed. Her hands already sweaty and her pupils very small. 

_"Seungmin, we need to talk."_

He closed his eyes briefly and sensed the pain, the numbing pain in his body. When Yeji had told him about the bet everything had felt very dull. Still, he kept thinking about her last words. 

_"No matter what Hyunjin said to you … it was probably a lie."_

The real question was not whether Seungmin wanted to forgive Hyunjin. It was about whether he _could_ forgive him. 

He was about to say something. Then he refused from doing so since Hyunjin's eyes were so bright, like he wanted them to mirror his soul. 

Out of nowhere Seungmin remembered their first encounter in the library. How shy Hyunjin had been, but also how intelligent and gentle. There was no way he could have faked that. 

They _were_ compatible. It was not a lie. And if the fundamental was real, then maybe they could overcome the obstacles on the surface. Since Hyunjin had shown that he cared for Seungmin. He was able to tell those little things about Seungmin, because he cherished them like they were precious. His apology had not consisted of him only saying _"I'm sorry."_ but rather a bunch of gestures, proofs, reassurances that it was honest. 

His feelings were honest. 

And Seungmin had been sceptical, but Hyunjin had already unlocked the chain around his heart long ago. He made him helpless and so confused, but also … alive. He was capable of feeling hurt since for the first time he cared. And this was such a relief. 

He was human too. He had desires too. He needed love too. 

Although he had been left by his mother, he was not alone. Hyunjin had betrayed him, had lied to him, had disappointed him. 

_But_ he had come back. He had not given up, no matter how much Seungmin tried to push him back. He cared enough to fix his mistakes. 

And perhaps Seungmin needed to learn that mistakes had to happen. There was no security in life. And if he wanted to accept the apology, he would also need to accept that Hyunjin might hurt him again. The difference was that the intention was not out of egoism. It was a part of being in love and desperate. 

Exactly this thought made him open his eyes. He reached out for Hyunjin's shoulders. 

The other smiled and was about to take his hand when he was suddenly pushed back. Logically he fell into the water, sank down and was shocked by the action. His reflexes and muscle memory as a swimmer hit, therefore, it did not take him long to come back to the surface. 

"Now I can forgive you," Seungmin stated, smirking. He sighed heavily. "Ah, that felt fucking great." 

"Well, I guess I deserved that," Hyunjin said, holding himself up in the water. His clothes were heavy, but that did not matter. Because Seungmin was smiling again. 

"You did." 

Afterwards, Seungmin brought towles after having offered Hyunjin to come into his room. Luckily he had no carpet floor so it was no problem that Hyunjin was dripping wet. 

Seungmin placed the towels on his bed. "You still have your clothes on." He stood in front of Hyunjin and unbuckled his belt.

Hyunjin lifted his chin and kissed him softly. It was wet and cold, but comforting. "Have I ever told you that I could drown in your eyes?" he whispered against his mouth. 

Seungmin backed off. "What's that supposed to mean?" His tone was amused. 

"That you're beautiful." 

Seungmin stroked through Hyunjin's hair. "Thank you." He hugged the older, not caring about getting wet himself. 

"Wait, your clothes." 

"I don't care, Hyunjin." 

The other giggled. 

"What?" 

"You call me Hyunjin again." 

Seungmin rolled his eyes and pinched his nose. "Stupid." 

Hyunjin smiled and caressed his shoulders. "I'm sorry." 

"Stop apologizing." Seungmin unbuttoned Hyunjin's shirt, touching his chest lightly. 

This caused a slight groan. "We should get rid of your clothes. They're wet too." Hyunjin pulled the t-shirt over Seungmin's head and tossed it away before tugging at his waistband. He nearly seemed desperate to touch him again, especially when he attached his lips to Seungmin's neck. 

Seungmin was enjoying the contact, however, after a few minutes Hyunijn broke away and brushed some hair strands out of his own forehead. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“No, everything’s fine,” Seungmin reassured immediately. He was a little bit confused. Why was Hyunjin hesitating? There should not be anything awkward between them. 

“It’s just … I don’t want you to think that I’m here to … I know that you thought I wanted to stay with you because of … and …” Hyunjin just kept stammering, unable to find fitting words. It was an amusing sight, therefore, Seungin chuckled. 

“I see. You’re nervous.”

Hyunjin shrugged and smiled. Nevertheless, he was clearly aroused. Although he said that it would be better to stop, his body told otherwise.

Seungmin wrapped his arms around his neck. “Then today I’m in charge, sweetheart.” The nickname rolled effortlessly over his tongue, making his voice drop a few tones lower. He was hoping that he could allure Hyunjin like that, and it was obviously working.

“What do you mean?” 

Seungmin pushed Hyunjin down onto his bed and sat on his lap. Slowly he began rolling his hip onto Hyunjin’s crotch, stroking the shirt off the other’s shoulders. It felt heavy since it was soaked with water. But who would care about it? 

“Seungmin, we don’t have to-”

“Shhh, be quiet,” Seungmin demanded and kissed Hyunjin’s shoulder. 

The older leaned back and gripped the sheets beneath his hands, biting his lower lip. He did not dare to touch Seungmin, fearing that the other might get a false impression.

That was the perfect occasion to take over, Seungmin decided. Therefore, he began to torture Hyunjin by just teasing him with soft bites. He took his time to nuzzle the skin, leaving small markings which would disappear after a few seconds. All in all he seemed quite careful, but it was enough to stir heat inside of Hyunjin. 

Seungmin pressed him down onto the mattress and tugged his waistband, kissing Hyunjin’s chest, feeling the fast heartbeat on his mouth. It made him smirk. Actually, he liked it to be superior, and it was pretty enjoyable to make Hyunjin writhing under him.

“Seungmin.”

Seungmin loved it to be called by his name. It sounded beautiful from Hyunjin’s mouth. Pup was a sweet pet name, but there was something about Hyunjin’s sweet voice. It was practically dripping with honey, every time he said this name like he was caressing it with his tongue.

Speaking of tongue, Seungmin felt the urge to kiss Hyunjin. He leaned over him and pulled him into the heated contact. His pace was agonizing, but intense. And he loved that Hyunjin was clumsy enough to hit their teeths against each other. The sound was unpleasant and so was the sensation, but something about Hyunjin being desperate was _so_ tempting. 

After a while Seungmin decided to get rid of his own clothes as well. He crawled over the bed to reach for the lube. Then he laid down on his back and coated his fingers with lube. Without hesitating he pressed the tip of his index finger inside. 

Hyunjin’s eyes widened since the action had been pretty surprising. Slowly he sat up and wanted to put his hand on Seungmin’s knee. However, the younger refused by kicking his hand away.

“No touching.”

Hyunjin blinked. “What?” He looked at him with a pleading gaze. 

“Don’t touch me nor yourself until I’m done.” Seungmin ignored Hyunjin’s tortured face and concentrated on fingering himself. Of course he was used to it, but it was still different to have a viewer. And Hyunjin’s eyes were practically glued on Seungmin. It was embarrassing and flattering. It made Seungmin’s dick twitch, begging for attention. He stayed strong and thrusted his fingers in and out, making sure to stretch himself carefully.

They had the time. And they needed it. 

Hyunjin seemed a bit overwhelmed, panting uncontrollably while rubbing his hands against the blanket. He hoped to grasp something to keep him sane. His glances were so longing yet full of …

Full of what? Love? What did that even look like?

Seungmin let out a breathless laugh and looked up at the ceiling. 

“What’s so funny?” Hyunjin whined. It was visible that he was hard, but since he was not allowed to touch himself he could not even undress fully. 

“Nothing. I’m just still mad at you.”

Hyunjin sighed. “Yeah, that’s okay … You can punch me again if you want to.” 

But Seungmin was not interested. Maybe he wanted Hyunjin to suffer, still not in that way. He lifted his legs and pulled out. “Or you can fuck me.” His words were so blunt that it caused goosebumps on Hyunjin’s arms. 

“I have no condoms.” 

“I’m not fragile.” 

Oh, but in Hyunjin’s point of view he was delicate. He needed to be taken care of. Perhaps he was in charge, but Hyunjin still wanted to take care of him (not making it too obvious, or else Seungmin would kill him). 

“Come on, sweetheart. It’s getting boring.” 

Hyunjin approached him and kissed the inner side of his thighs. He seemed so nervous, although they had done it multiple times. He was practically shivering under Seungmin’s piercing gazes. Those deep eyes buried themselves into his skin. 

Well, maybe it was time to drown then.

“I’m falling asleep.”

“Sorry,” Hyunjin whispered and smiled. He would probably never get tired of that sight in front of him. It was a little bit different, but the way Seungmin blushed so beautifully, his narrow shoulders being red as well, was so adorable. 

He pushed himself inside, keeping the pace leisurely and listening to Seungmin’s lustful sounds.  
The younger wrapped his legs around Hyunijn’s waist before pulling him closer. They stayed like this, waiting for Seungmin to adjust. The heat was addicting and Hyunjin’s mouth was as dry as a desert. 

Then Seungmin grabbed his shoulders. “Sit up.”

Hyunjin obeyed, whereupon the other was able to crouch on his lap.

Seungmin sighed and brushed through Hyunjin’s hair. “By the way, thank you for all the presents. That wasn’t necessary.”

“It was,” Hyunjin insisted, “You deserve that, and so much more.”

Seungmin rolled his eyes. “Oh eww.” He took a deep breath and lifted himself up before sinking down again.

Hyunjin’s jaw dropped as he supported himself on his hands. He watched Seungmin moving his hips up and down. After a while he was used to it and even started to move in circular motions, driving Hyunin absolutely wild. It was too tempting to thrust up into the other, but he did not dare to. Especially because Seungmin started moaning obscenely. Usually he was attentive and tried to be quieter. Now he was too occupied by his own lust and just enjoyed taking control.

Hyunjin dropped onto his lower arms and leaned his head into his neck, watching the ceiling while he felt how Seungmin clenched around him. He groaned and shuffled his feet over the sheets. He could feel the other’s hot breath, his clever fingers which were trailing over his torso.

Seungmin’s pace dropped until he just sat on his lap.

“Are you tired?” Hyunjin questioned and grabbed Seungmin’s hand.

His counterpart nodded and tried to catch his breath. “Ugh, you know what? It’s your turn now.” 

Hyunjin straightened his back and pressed Seungmin into the mattress. Firstly, he was reluctant, but soon he was brave enough to thrust into the younger. 

Seungmin gasped several times, scratching over Hyunjin’s shoulder blades and moaning melodiously. It seriously sounded like singing. How was his voice so fucking smooth? This increased Hyunjin’s longing for him and he snapped his hips, whispering compliments and praises into Seungmin’s ear.

The other tried to brush it off, but was soon enhanced by the way Hyunjin was pounding into him, grabbing his thighs and pushing them up. 

“Gosh, you’re so beautiful,” Hyunjin gasped, “I want to come inside.”

“Needy,” Seungmin commented. 

They were already sweaty, but that did Hyunjin not stop to thrust faster into him, loving Seungmin passionately. He was simply so relieved that he could hold the other like this again. It was extremely easy to let himself fall like that. 

That was why it did not take him long to ejaculate. And he pressed their bodies flush together, coming deeply inside and clutching into the sheets. He kissed over Seungmin’s neck and took the other’s erection, pushing him towards his high. 

Hyunjin could not help but to collapse on Seungmin.

Silence.

The sun shone through the window, reflecting its warm rays on their connected bodies. It seemed like it did not want them to freeze.

The thought made Hyunjin smile and he stroked through Seungmin’s hair. "I love you so much," he breathed against the warm skin, eliciting goosebumps. 

Seungmin did not return the confession. Instead he said three other words which made Hyunjin happier than the classical version. They were more powerful than any other answer, hammering their silent promise into the basis of their freshly awakened relationship.

"I believe you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we get to THAT part, haha. It is like ending a performance, and now the curtains close. 
> 
> This story ended up being way longer than planned, but whatever. It is SeungJin and they can have my whole heart.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who supported this fic! Special thanks to those who wrote comments regularly and accompanied the development of that story actively. Hugs to 
> 
> @prettychiisy  
> @Golden_Wings1975  
> @Seungsjinie  
> @hwngs  
> @thelightbulb  
> @Seungyu  
> @Ariazan
> 
> Their support helped me a lot to keep going since this is the longest fanfiction I’ve ever written originally in English. Sometimes it was hard, but those lovely comments were able to knock out my downs. It was also great to see familiar readers! I do not know why, it just warms my heart that some of you keep looking for new content. That is indeed sweet.
> 
> Ah, it is kind of weird to end this since I have become so attached to the setting (like … Seungmin living on a boat is fucking dope). But it is good to end it here before we get tired of it haha. And I genuinely hope that you liked that cheesy happy end.  
> However, I am planning other SeungJin stories, although I am not sure when I will be able to create them. Until then, stay safe. 
> 
> And again, thank you for investing your precious time in reading this work! 
> 
> Bye bye~


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